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Racecar Engineering November 2017
Racecar Engineering November 2017
Racecar Engineering November 2017
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CONTENTS – NOVEMBER 2017 – Volume 27 Number 11
01684 291122
www.motorsport-systems.co.uk
STRAIGHT TALK – RICARDO DIVILA
Hyper inflation
Are the makers of mega-money hypercars too fixated on those really big numbers?
R
egular as clockwork, manufacturers come for radars to increment the state revenue, call it or creating manufacturing methods to be more
up with another supercar, some just show indirect taxation, the concept of a car that can go reactive, downsized and ecological.
cars to pump up the image, but some as over 200mph is frankly ridiculous, and not many I have ranted on for years about the incongruity
production cars. Some of those actually jump into hypercar buyers even regularly take them to a track of using a two-metre wide, four-metre long, ton-and
another group, the hypercars, like the 1479bhp at day to exploit even part of their performance. a-quarter of metal object to transport 80kg of me
6700rpm, peak torque 1600Nm, from 2000rpm all Engineers can be forgiven for these cars, around. For more than ample performance this will
the way to 6000rpm, Bugatti Chiron, with a limited perhaps, as part of their motivation is to improve have to have something in the region of 300bhp,
top speed of 261mph, and a projected production the breed. But it is time to admit that improving the giving a power to weight ratio of 5kg per HP.
run of 100 cars. Apart from the performance figures, breed does not mean more horsepower or more
it also ticks the really essential big number: $3.38m. speed, but rather more efficiency, more usefulness, Hyper-active
A well know syndrome in teenage boys is the and better energy consumption? Let us take a small run down memory lane. What
word-exempt conversation they tend to indulge in, That there will be a market for a couple of is accepted as the first car was the Benz Patent
with a sprinkling of numbers and of course letters, thousand supercars or hypercars is clear, given the Motorwagen of 1886, with a 560W (0.75hp) 954cc
exemplified in this sample: ‘Ah, the 3000YZ 3-litre world’s fleet of approximately 1.3bn cars, but it does engine and an empty weight of 265kg, giving a
triple-turbo; zero to a 100 in 3.5 seconds, DOHC not need the slavish hyping of it by the motoring power to weight ratio of 353.3kg/hp. It could easily
desmodromic cams, 500bhp, paddleshift, rheostatic press. And this applies also to more mundane cars. be outperformed by a horse.
dampers, active differential beast.’ Why would you need an 8-speed 600bhp 4WD Okay, as we progressed we then went from a
To be answered with: ‘The 114 W16 can Audi RS6 station wagon? Considering that it will 1908 Ford Model T 2.9-litre flex-fuel, at 27kg/hp, to
beat it easily, 600bhp DIN double manifold today’s base saloon of around 150hp with a
flux-capacitor with nuclear mega tonnage power to weight ratio of 8.8kg/hp.
capability and a state of the art air conditioner, The high-performance car could be
capable of 48,000 BTUs of heat extraction. And exemplified in 1984 by the Ferrari Testarossa,
holographic mirrors. Can’t beat those.’ with 390bhp and P/W ratio of 3.86kg/hp,
or in 2007 with a Porsche 911GT2 with
Figures of speech 523bhp and 2.75kg/hp. Today’s La Ferrari
These conversations do not only involve cars, with 950bhp clocks in at a P/W of 1.66kg/hp,
they also apply to stereo equipment, planes just slightly worse than a 1936 Supermarine
and of course, weapons. I am not immune Spitfire with a P/W ratio of 1.57. We will have
to this either, but at least it is part of the to go a bit further to reach the highs of a
job description. But sanity should return to Boeing 747 (0.548kg/hp), but we’re not too
the populace at large and principally to the far away from the first of Audi’s diesel Le
motoring press, who act as porn merchants to The Bugatti Chiron costs $3.38m, yet a 300kg 0.4-litre car could Mans winners, the 2006 R10 TDI at 1.43.
this syndrome. It is time to acknowledge that be a more attractive solution. And Gordon Murray drives a Smart But what we need is a measure of usable
this sort of performance is not really usable performance, and as such we need to parse
anywhere, save dedicated high-speed test ovals. spend most of its life trundling around small towns in the other factors, such as what speed we really
One company car I used was a Lamborghini or cities, or at best in the suburbs on the school need to go, what fuel consumption and pollution
Diablo. It had more blind spots than Stevie Wonder, run, it does smell a bit of overkill. It’s a nice car, yes, is acceptable, and what the car is to be used for,
a clunky gearbox, pedals that required truck driver but not really pertinent to real life. But it is a mega plus what it will cost to scrap and maintain. We
muscles, an air conditioner that couldn’t cope with car to drop into a conversation in a pub, or for do not need a bling advertiser and bird puller,
the half-acre of glass so you would fry in summer, getting one-up on your neighbour. women are much more sensible than that.
while it was impossible to pay Autostrada tolls We can build sane cars easily. It will weigh more
without opening the door and getting out. Handy Murray than a bare bones early 20th century cycle car, but
So why do they exist? Well, we can class them in Probably the premier designer of my generation, given the materials we have now, putatively 50 per
the jewellery category, like watches, where you can Gordon Murray, has said: ‘I’ve driven a Smart car cent efficient ICE engines, one can design and build
find examples like the Graff Diamonds Hallucination for the last 13 years.’ After designing F1 cars that a 300kg carbon aluminium 0.4-litre engine 100bhp
at $55m; the Breguet Marie-Antoinette Grande won the world championship, producing the car that will outperform all the iconic sportcars
Complication Pocket Watch at $30m; or the Richard McLaren F1 supercar that won Le Mans at its first we had drooled over in our teens (or later for the
Mille RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon at a mere $2m. attempt, we can assume he knows cars, be it for the incurably car-struck) and reduce pollution, use less
The high price tag is the reason to buy it. road or race track, and he loves driving and all that space and accelerate very quickly.
But engineering is not supposed to be a goes with it. So he’s worth listening to. The sole drawback is having to share the
wallet advertiser, and we can tell the time on our And where is Gordon Murray now? Well, if you road with Ms Doe taking the kids to school in the
smartphone these days. And considering that what are in the business, you should know he is still 3-tonne, 9ft high Toyota Tyrannosaurus SUV. I do
used to be the open road is now a hunting ground very active indeed, be it with designing town cars, love cars, honest, guv, but some sanity please.
Improving the breed does not mean more horsepower or more speed
NOVEMBER 2017 www.racecar-engineering.com 5
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SIDETRACK – MIKE BLANCHET
Fatal distraction
In the rush to diversify have some F1 teams lost sight of what really matters?
C
ommitment in motor racing is generally Assuming that this isn’t just hubris, does he really shareholders. However, in recent years this certainly
identified with a driver’s determination to believe that they can succeed in their stated task of appears to have dented Williams’ long-held
keep hard on the throttle into fast and risky bringing the Formula 1 team back to its glory days reputation for always favouring talent over budget,
corners where the consequences of misjudgment while diverting resources and concentration to despite protestations otherwise.
are likely to be severe. But there are other forms these other demanding disciplines? This principle became compromised when the
of commitment that play a massive part in our team began employing drivers with lesser ability
complex business and sport. Horsing around but bringing big bucks sponsorship. Obviously
Liberty F1’s Sean Bratches recently stated that McLaren should take heed of Ron Dennis’ throw- funding was the issue that necessitated this
it is committing to street races for the additional away comment, way back when McLaren were top change of philosophy, but since then Williams
grands prix it wishes to establish. One can see the of the heap, that ‘F1 isn’t enough’. While McLaren’s has experienced a steady decline with only the
marketing logic, and there is a place for such events subsequent ventures in supercars and a variety occasional flash of speed to remind one of the
in F1, as has always been the case. Monaco has of technologies has been very successful, for the heady years of the past decades. In terms of
been a sine qua non of the world championship F1 operation it’s been downhill ever since. Even constructors’ points payments and sponsorship
since its inception; Singapore has presented a back in motor racing history, Ferrari’s grand prix revenue lost, one wonders how the scales might
real challenge over the past decade. Nonetheless, efforts always suffered when winning Le Mans have weighed overall regarding this sacrifice of
should the ratio of street to purpose-built tracks was seen as a priority. That lesson was taken on performance in exchange for money? Maybe
begin to approach half, there is a real risk of board eventually and the Prancing Horse has not there was no choice, but despite the increased
Formula 1 losing its core identity. had a factory presence outside of F1 since the mid financial health of the company, the taking on of
No ‘round-the-houses’ (or should this be 1970s, a decision endorsed by the many races and Lance Stroll – talented but raw and inexperienced
‘round-the-skyscrapers’?) circuit can ever equal world championships won subsequently. Imagine – together with the demands of a massive testing
the majesty of Spa or Suzuka, where cars programme coming as part of the deal,
and drivers can stretch their proverbial must inevitably be a distraction for the
legs and exercise the full extent of their management of the organisation, no
capabilities, and spectators can view matter how lucrative.
more than just one corner. If Liberty sticks
to its promise of protecting the traditional Lowe and behold
venues, all well and good, and we will In just this year alone the organisation
have to accept the necessity of more of the extensive Williams 40th
street races to maintain the health of anniversary Silverstone event, the
grand prix racing. What bothers me and, attendant book and film, all takes the
I‘m sure, many others who love the sport, operation’s collective eye off the ball,
would be for Formula 1 to gradually which must inevitably detract from
become a grown-up version of Formula E, the business of winning.
focused on city centres, even if, praise be, Allowing Paddy Lowe to buy
XPB
it retains the internal combustion engine into the operation implies more of
at its heart. Commitment to success is Two once great teams battle for scraps in the Singapore GP. Have Williams a return to the ‘real racers’ tag that
vital, but Liberty must be careful not (foreground) and McLaren both been overly-distracted by non-F1 projects? used to define Williams, but unless
to destroy the foundations of grand he can inject a massive kick up the
prix racing as a consequence. now, with F1 competition infinitely more complex backside to this lack of real commitment, Britain’s
technologically and logistically, how much greater favourite F1 team will continue only as a racing
Out of focus group is the necessity for McLaren to commit absolutely company earning enough to maintain itself as a
Also on the subject of commitment, given 100 per cent to the single aim of winning again, viable business – but no more.
McLaren’s current woes and its need now to without any distractions at all along the way. How Much like Sauber, whose decision, despite a
hurriedly form a relationship with a new power else to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari, both big new backer, to use year-old Ferrari engines
unit supplier (which is rated as only third best), I of whose formidable organisations are totally and accept pay drivers, I criticised pre-season as
find some of Zak Brown’s recent pronouncements committed to the one objective of being top of the displaying a real lack of commitment. Completely
puzzling. Following Alonso’s beautifully-executed heap, also against Red Bull and upcoming Renault? uncompetitive in almost every race so far, it is to
‘compensation treat’ in the Indy 500 this summer, Doubt also enters my mind about the real be hoped that the recent signing of Fred Vasseur
Brown was adamant about a future McLaren commitment to winning displayed by Williams. As as team principal will turn this around. Only total
entry in IndyCar. Just recently, he made a similar a publicly-listed company, one understands that it commitment to win can exist in a team intent
comment in regards to a Le Mans LMP1 project. has a duty first to maximise assets and profits for its on not just making up the numbers.
Engineering a race
I
t was an overcast Saturday at Indianapolis Once finished, the officials took their posts and itself began as a question – what would a
Motor Speedway on July 22, a welcome the R&D staff returned to the office of NASCAR successful race on the challenging 2.5-mile, low
break from the usual scorching Xfinity series director Wayne Auton to see banked oval look like? The iconic venue has
temperatures for the annual summer whether nearly a year’s work would result in a hosted the top-tier Monster Energy NASCAR
NASCAR race at the track. On the grid 40 cars thrilling race. This is the story of how the Xfinity Cup Series for the Brickyard 400 since 1994, with
prepared to roll off for the start of the race, series race package came to be, and the results the NASCAR Xfinity Series joining in 2012.
while five nervous NASCAR R&D engineers and of NASCAR’s grand experiment. With its historic significance to racing, the
fabricators huddled near the centre of pit road. Indy event is considered one of NASCAR’s crown
As the cars started their engines, a Indy beginning jewel events, though racing heavy stock cars
procession of NASCAR officials came by to As previously outlined in the May 2017 issue on the track has always proven a challenge. The
collect a curious looking package with carbon of Racecar Engineering (V27N5), NASCAR task was handed to NASCAR R&D to determine
fibre bits protruding from each end of the conducted a test in October 2016 to evaluate a if there was a way to deliver a more consistently
bubble wrapped exterior – the back-up ducts. new race package for Indianapolis. The package exciting race for fans at this historic venue.
The staff at the R&D centre knew that with the current restrictor plate power level approaching trail car effectively lowers the drag
slipstreaming had to play an important role in would achieve this goal. It was then a matter of the lead car while experiencing an increase
keeping the cars close and mitigating losses of maximising the slipstream effect to ensure in drag itself, resulting in what drivers refer to
in the corners due to the single lane nature of the cars could actually capitalise on their closer as a drag bubble. Analysis of the CFD results
the track. That meant eliminating the typical proximity and make passes on track. revealed this increase in drag occurred primarily
40 to 50mph difference observed between the on the front fascia of the trailing racecar,
apex and end of straight speeds in the top tier Bubble trouble accounting for nearly all of the total drag
Cup series. The recipe called for the greatest CFD work commenced, analysing how to increase the trail car experienced.
cornering speed an Xfinity car could achieve improve the slipstream and reduce the spike The effect appeared to be due to the wake
while limiting the end of straight speed as much in drag on a trailing car in the half- to one-car inwash of the lead car impinging on the front
as possible – essentially running flat out or very length region. This effect is inherent to most fascia of the trailing car, resulting in higher fascia
close to it. Driver simulator work showed that typical automotive shapes running in close pressures and thus higher total vehicle drag.
using the 2016 aerodynamics package along proximity outside of open wheel cars. The This led to attempts to widen the wake using
Rubber stamped
After presenting the test data to NASCAR
ng at North Carolina State University is the ability to call on the expertise of my advisor, Dr.
management and the technical directors of the
ranlund. Dr. Granlund is an Assistant Professor in the department, with a background in teams, NASCAR’s top management
Xfinity Series
namics and aeronautics from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. As a Ph.D. madestudent at with the race package
the call to proceed
in January 2017. As with all decisions made in
ch, he worked on aero/hydrodynamic stability of maneuvering airships and submarines. He
NASCAR, team costs are of paramount concern,
eaches automotive and aerospace engineering courses and directs basic and applied research
especially with the lower budgets in the Xfinity
subsonic and supersonic experimental unsteady fluid mechanics supporting U.S.Series. Air Force,
This meant that NASCAR footed the bill
well asFigure
working
Figure2.1: CFD
withdelta
CFDvelocity
NASCAR
velocitydelta plot, R&D.
plot showing
showing the
the wake
wake deficit
deficit created
createdby
bythe
ducts. White/red
ducts. shows
White/red highhigh
shows velocity air air
velocity exiting ducts
exiting the to produce the aero ducts for the package –
ducts. and also meant is was able to maintain control
. Granlund was of great assistance in helping to analyze the sensitivities of the ducts from
over the ducts.the
The ducts would not be made
ork. We studied a variety of parameters and their effect on the cars such as duct available exit height,
to teams for wind tunnel testing, and
atio, and exit to angle to arrive at the best compromise. It was found that the lower geometrythewould
ductsnot be provided to the teams,
other than the relevant hole patterns.
e track and the greater the exit size, the better they performed at both increasing single car
e and improving slipstreaming. Exit angle was also crucial – a perpendicular duct exit Prime offeredfascia
ipstreaming but actually hurt downforce, while shallower duct exit angles still offered the At R&D, goodgreen light on the package meant
a final push in CFD to analyse the best possible
ing performance yet increased downforce. Normalized results for the lead and trail car drag
configuration for the ducts. An additional
in Figure 4. complication was that the front fascia of the
The October 2016 Indianapolis test. The day was structured to allow 30 minutes of practice laps followed by a mock race Xfinity car had seen a change in the off-season,
with the front splitter height lowered one inch
to bring it in line with the Cup Series cars. It was
also decided that with stakes this high, we could
not afford to be conservative in our approach
to this – every risk within reason had to be
considered to make the package a success.
This meant reviewing our assumptions and
trying to fine-tune as much benefit as possible
into the final duct design.
An advantage of my current doctoral
studies in the department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State
University is the ability to call on the expertise of
my adviser, Dr Kenneth Granlund. Dr Granlund
is an assistant professor in the department,
with a background in vehicle dynamics
and aeronautics from the Royal Institute of
Technology, Sweden. As a PhD student at
Virginia Tech, he worked on aero/hydrodynamic
stability of manoeuvring airships and
submarines. He currently teaches automotive
Figure 2. Normalised results for lead and trail car total drag for various duct exit angles at a constant inlet/exit ratio and aerospace engineering courses and directs
Figure 4. Normalized total drag for various duct exit angles at a constant inlet/exit ratio.
10 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2017
Adding the aero ducts led to significant passing on the race track
basic and applied research projects in subsonic performance yet increased downforce. but it would still be a close fit. The ducts still
and supersonic experimental unsteady fluid Normalised results for the lead and trail car needed to clear the splitter structure without
mechanics supporting US Air Force and Army, drag are shown in Figure 2. drastic changes in volume throughout the
as well as working with NASCAR R&D. From a rule-making perspective, adding duct; the design CAD is shown in Figure 3. The
Dr Granlund was of great assistance in a device that hurt downforce and added differences in design between the test and the
helping to analyse the sensitivities of the ducts drag would motivate teams to sabotage our race version are shown at the foot of this page.
from the original work. We studied a variety of efforts. It was decided to maximise the exit Finally, there was the small matter of
parameters and their effect on the cars such area by widening the duct to the absolute limit building the finalised ducts. NASCAR solicited
as duct exit height, inlet/exit ratio, and exit to allowable for tyre clearance and choose the bids from several composites manufacturers
angle to arrive at the best compromise. It was most practical exit angle of 42 degrees from in the industry, ultimately choosing Crawford
found that the lower the ducts were to the the longitudinal axis. The overall height of the Composites of Denver, North Carolina. Crawford
track and the greater the exit size, the better duct was also shortened, since the height study utilised multiple tools to produce the ducts,
they performed at both increasing single car showed better performance lower to the track ultimately supplying 56 sets to NASCAR for
downforce and improving slipstreaming. Exit and eliminated the need to trim the flange the expected field of 40. The ducts were drilled
angle was also crucial; a perpendicular duct between the upper and lower fascias. The exit and fitted with nutserts and lovingly boxed
exit offered the best slipstreaming but of the duct was shortened to move it closer to into four pallet-sized boxes for the journey to
actually hurt downforce, while shallower duct the front of the car to avoid the need to scallop Indianapolis, with the human cargo not far
exit angles still offered good slipstreaming the duct for tyre clearance when turning, behind. With the rulebook updated for the race
weekend, there was no turning back now.
The race
The R&D team arrived early to the track on
Friday and took up position near the garage
entrance to distribute the ducts to each team’s
crew chief. For many, this was the first time
they had laid their hands on them, but
installation went remarkably well thanks to the
efforts of the series staff to provide templates
and test fit them at team shops (they were not
allowed to keep them). There was some initial
concern over tyre clearance to the ducts, with
teams worried the tyres would rub the ducts
during sharp cornering in the garage area, but
this ultimately proved unfounded.
First practice took place in the early
afternoon on Friday, with peak temperatures
around 90degF and the track surface in a green
Figure 5. Final duct design in yellow showing surrounding structure.
state. Drivers were unsettled about how slick
the track was – they were not able to run flat
out even with clean air ahead. Apex speeds
The differences in design between the test version and the race version were lowerare shownlikely
than expected, in Figure
attributable6.
to the higher ambient and track temperatures
Figure 3. Final duct design in yellow, also showing surrounding structure compared to the test conditions. But by second
The differences in design between the test version (left) and the version-two duct used in the race (right). Crawford Composites was hired to manufacture the race ducts for NASCAR
Figure 6. Initial duct design (left) compared to the version 2 ducts used in the race (right).
NOVEMBER 2017 www.racecar-engineering.com 11
NASCAR – AERODYNAMICS
Preparing to hand out the back-up duct sets to NASCAR officials before the race Start of the race. The R&D department looked on anxiously as its package was put to the test
Post-Indy wind tunnel testing at Aerodyn Wind Tunnel with the No.1 Chevrolet of Elliot Sadler
running more downforce (and resulting higher throughout the race, making the straights
drag) with the hopes of an advantage during nearly as exciting as the corners, which at times
the race, while others focused on minimising featured three-wide racing on the narrow track.
drag. With the spoiler size set by NASCAR, The finish of the race featured a shoot-out
tweaks to the downforce and drag levels between Byron driving for JR Motorsports
of an individual racecar is largely left to and veteran Cup series driver Paul Menard,
teams by optimising the body within the who battled for several laps before finishing
allowable tolerances, as well as splitter angle 0.108 seconds apart. Immediately after
William Byron wins with Paul Menard just 0.108 seconds adrift settings on the front of the car. the chequered flag, the R&D team assisted
competition officials in collecting the ducts back
practice things were looking up – packs of 15 Final draft from the teams. Overall, only three sets were lost
to 20 cars were snaking down the straights in The race itself was a whirlwind for the R&D staff, due to crash or debris damage.
an unusually aggressive practice session. Teams who watched from the series director’s trailer The NASCAR R&D team didn’t have much
had used the time between practices to make that features live feeds of 20 track cameras as time to rest after returning from Indianapolis,
adjustments that had moved the needle toward well as the broadcast feed of the race. On track, with a scheduled wind tunnel shift to validate
the type of on-track behaviour expected from groups of cars were racing together as hoped the duct performance on the No.1 Chevrolet of
the test. At the flag for practice two, 25 cars were – not a pack consisting of the entire field, but Elliot Sadler. Because of the secrecy involving
on the track attempting to learn as much as smaller groups of three to five cars. The leading the actual duct design and the tight window
possible about what lay ahead in the race. car proved unable to escape into the distance teams had to prepare their cars prior to the race,
On Saturday, qualifying took place shortly in clean air as commonly seen at Indianapolis. it was not possible to test the ducts on a car
before the race, with the No.9 car of William At one point, the No.18 Toyota of Kyle Busch in the wind tunnel before the race. The results
Byron taking pole at a speed of 165.283mph. took a several-second lead after a double-file of the test correlated well with CFD (Table 1),
It was obvious that there were divergent aero restart, but was run down within two laps by a with a downforce gain of 94lbf predicted in
strategies at play, with some top organisations group of charging cars. Blocking was prevalent CFD vs the measured 100lbf. In the race tape
www.michelin-engineering-and-services.com
NASCAR – AERODYNAMICS
Figure 10. Kiel probe array for duct evaluation. A good race?
Analysing the quality of a race as a spectator is
In addition to validating the forces on the car, the accuracy of the CFD-predicted wake change a difficult thing with each fan’s opinion varying
was assessed using a Kiel probe array (Figure 10), custom designed by the R&D Center team. Probeon what makes for a good race. Is it a close
ensity was focused around the higher delta regions predicted by CFD. The measured pressure battle for the lead? Lots of passing or crashes, or
maybe simply their favourite driver winning? So,
oefficient correlated well with simulation, showing a large wake deficit region running along the side of
instead of relying solely on qualitative analysis,
he car created by the ducts. The lateral expansion of the wake was slightly less than CFD, though this is
including fan opinion, NASCAR has attempted
most likely attributable to the wall proximity at Aerodyn.
The accuracy of the CFD-predicted wake change was assessed by fitting a Kiel probe array to the racecar in the wind tunnel to create quantitative metrics that are analysed
after each event. Table 2 shows a selection of
statistics from the race in 2017 as compared to
the three-year average and past data from the
last three races. The race broke previous records
for number of unique leaders, green flag passes
for the lead, quality passes, number of lead
changes, margin of victory, and the average
time between first and fifth place under green
flag conditions. The margin of victory (0.108
seconds) was a NASCAR Xfinity Series track
record at Indianapolis. On the qualitative side,
the fan action score is a metric culled from a
pool of fans who sign up at the beginning of
each season and are randomly polled on the
race in the immediate aftermath. The 8.1 rating
ranks near the top of the charts for all Xfinity
races in a season, and handily beat the 5.5 rating
of the 2016 race. Another data point comes from
journalist Jeff Gluck of www.jeffgluck.com and
CFD predictedFigure 11.probe
Cp at Kiel CFDrake
predicted
locationCp at Kiel
(left) probe rake
vs measured location (left)
Cp. Measured vs measured
pressure Cp (right).well with CFD
coefficient correlated his popular ‘Was it a good race?’ Twitter polls,
with 87 per cent of fans voting affirmatively.
Table 2: Race metrics from the Lilly Diabetes 250
Criteria 2017 3-Yr avg 2016 2015 2014 Up for the Cup?
Given the success of the race, the Indy race
Number of unique leaders 8 4.7 2 6 6
package will live on in the Xfinity Series next
Green flag passes for the lead at timing loops 29 9.7 10 10 9
season with discussion of possibly expanding
Quality passes 518 396 251 449 488
its implementation. Application in the Monster
Number of lead changes at start/finish line 16 6 2 8 9
Energy Cup Series is possible in the future,
Margin of victory 0.108 0.56 0.411 0.421 0.833
though the process would be slightly more
Average time between 1st and 5th at S/F Line 2.5 8 8.9 7.7 7.3
complex due to the higher degree of design
Fan action score 8.1 6.8 5.5 7.4 7.4 freedom in the body styling. But it will not be an
insurmountable challenge to design ducts that
The race broke previous records for number of achieve the same result while affecting each
manufacturer’s car in an equal manner.
unique leaders, green flag passes for the lead, One of the peculiar facets of working for
the sanctioning body is we don’t often get to
number of lead changes and margin of victory feel the thrill of victory that a team gets when
it wins race. But on an overcast Saturday at
Indianapolis, we came pretty close.
Contact us now!
motorsports.balzers@oerlikon.com
www.oerlikon.com/balzers/race
FORMULA 1 – FORCE INDIA VJM10
Fourth India
It’s not just the pink livery
W
hen asked about his favourite Force India, have run with a high rake angle
feature of the 2017 Force India, for aerodynamic reasons, with the rear of the
that makes Force India’s the small Silverstone-based
outfit’s technical director, Andy
car sitting higher than the front, but it was not
clear to the Force India designers if this would
VJM10 the stand-out car Green, jokes ‘the colour!’ The VJM10 is, indeed, work with the new rulebook. ‘When we first got
one of the most distinctive cars in Formula 1. the regulations through it was about trying to
in the Formula 1 pack, But it’s not only that bright pink paint job, it also understand what concept we thought would
Force India has proven to be best of the rest so far this season and
sits in fourth place in the constructors’ standings despite some
high-profile race-ruining accidents when its drivers have collided
TECH SPEC
where Force India uses a 60 per cent scale through some of the critical tracks, to try to
model. ‘Once the aerodynamic guys had started understand where we would see the peak loads,’
work our attention turned to the structural side Green says. ‘It became quite apparent that Eau
of the car,’ Green says. ‘We had to estimate where Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps was a stand-out
we were going to be aerodynamically at the corner, so the car had to be fundamentally
end of the season and what the loads would be. designed to take that corner.‘
Trying to predict that 18 months to two years in
advance is a big question, and hard to answer, Gripping mystery
but it is a fundamental question and one you As was the case with all teams developing cars
have to ask as that is the car you are designing for 2017 there was one area where information
Force India VJM10
the structures for, not the one you launch. The was severely lacking – again due to the very late
Chassis: Carbon fibre composite monocoque with
aerodynamic team then gave us some early confirmation of the rule changes. ‘The biggest Zylon side anti-intrusion panels.
indications of where they thought that they catch to understanding all this was the tyres,
Power unit: Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains
would start the season aerodynamically, then we had no visibility of what Pirelli were going to V6 Turbo 1.6-litre with ERS
we looked historically at our development rate bring for 2017,’ Green says. ‘In fact, Pirelli didn’t Suspension: Front – aluminium alloy uprights with carbon fibre
following a big regulation change. That gave us know what they were going to bring. There composite wishbones, trackrod and pushrod. Inboard chassis
an idea of what level of development we could was no point in asking them as they were still mounted torsion springs, dampers and anti-roll bar assembly.
Rear – aluminium alloy uprights with carbon fibre composite
see during the season and allowed us to try and developing them. We had to make assumptions wishbones, trackrod and pullrod. Hydro-mechanical springs,
predict where the car would be by the end of about what they were going to do, where they dampers and anti-roll bar assembly.
the 2017 season in Abu Dhabi.’ were going to set the compounds. We needed Transmission: Mercedes AMG F1 8-speed,
After analysing the results of that very early to know how quick they were going to be; that semi-automatic seamless shift.
work the team at Force India discovered that makes a huge difference to the car you design.’ Wheels and tyres: BBS forged wheels; Pirelli tyres
one track in particular would define what the The problem was that Pirelli had only done Fuel and lubricants: Petronas
structures that make up the VJM10 would have limited running using fairly unrepresentative Brakes: AP Racing / 920E calipers with
to withstand. ‘We ran some simulations, sweeps mule cars which did not generate the same carbon-carbon friction material.
forces as the 2017 cars would. ‘We needed to how big all the wishbone legs need to be, how start of the season we had made a mistake on
not underestimate what Pirelli could bring, strong all the attachments need to be, and how the performance of the car and had to start
because they could bring some really aggressive stiff we need to make the chassis. It’s a long redesigning fundamental components. That
compounds and completely change the loads process when you’re starting from scratch like would see our development budget gone,
on the car,’ Green says. ‘So we had to anticipate that. It’s a big drain on our resources.’ so it is one or the other. We are either
that happening, and once we had all of that developing a car structurally or developing a
information we could start to build a picture of Design dilemma car from the performance perspective, we
what the car would look like and structurally Not knowing any real details of the tyre can’t do both. That’s life as a small team. That
what it needs to be. Then we can work out performance left Force India with something of means giving ourselves margin with the peak
a dilemma: design the car to be the lightest it loads we think we are going to see.’
‘We are far better off could be but marginal in terms of withstanding
loads, or play it safe and risk being overweight.
The risk of playing it safe in terms of being
able to cope with the loads through the car is
needs to be redesigned’
Green says. ‘It would absolutely destroy our which needs to be redesigned,’ Green says.
development capability if we realised at the It is clear that the VJM10 was marginal in
terms of weight during its development, despite
the fact that in 2017 the minimum weight of the
cars is the heaviest it has ever been at 728kgs.
‘It was tight but the guys did a great job,’ Green
says. ‘In winter testing the car was over the
limit, but by the time we got to [the first race at]
Melbourne is was just under. We can slowly trim
weight off throughout the season.’
With getting the car underweight proving
a bit of an issue, getting full movement within
the regulated weight distribution limit was
a problem, too. The limit is a minimum of
330kg on the front axle and 391kg on the rear,
giving a window of just 7kg. ‘We don’t have
full movement in the window, that was one of
the issues we had,’ Green says. ‘So we made a
decision on where we wanted to put the weight
distribution, then run the car on the new tyres
and see what they needed. It turns out we
guessed right, and I think a lot of teams did,
to be honest. We are pinned at one end of the
range but we are happy with that.’
VJM10 uses Mercedes ’box, but as it’s designed for a lower rake car some compromises have been needed at the rear end
Nose picking
In general terms the design of the Mercedes-
powered car is relatively conventional with
pushrod actuated front torsion bars suspension,
and pullrods at the rear. However, a notable
area of difference is the nose, which features a
continuation of Force India’s unique approach to
the front crash structure regulations – but more
notably a rather unfortunate looking hump at
the rear of the nose structure. This covers some
of the inboard front suspension components,
which are mounted on top of the monocoque.
‘That is to do with the stiffness targets we set
ourselves,’ Green says. ‘We are very sensitive to
how low we can run the nose of the car so front
stiffness is important to us and we decided that
we didn’t want to compromise on it at this early
stage. Aerodynamically it is neutral putting it all
on the top of the chassis and having that shape
on the nose. The other alternative was to lower
it all and add additional weight to the racecar.
It was a basic decision; do we make the car
look a little bit nicer and lower the pushrods,
The VJM10 struggled to meet the new, heavier, weight limit during development but achieved it by the start of the season but to get the stiffness back again we would
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FORMULA 1 – FORCE INDIA VJM10
have to add a kilogram of weight to it. That was They do compromise their design to allow us clarified, what we can and can’t do, and the FIA
an easy question to answer, then, we had to to run the suspension and ride heights that we are happy about what the teams are doing,’ he
keep the weight down on all those little areas. It run, because ours is quite different to theirs. says. ‘We still manage to shed ride height to get
is easy to add a few grams, but they all add up, While they do help us and allow us to do that, the drag down going down the straight. One of
and then you are in big trouble.’ the fundamental pickup points are designed the main issues of a high rake car is that it tends
for a low rake car, and so we would prefer to to be draggy, but we can do things to make that
Boxed in have some things in different places, but that less so. We didn’t need to change our concept.’
Force India utilises not only the Mercedes is just one of the compromises we have to live
power unit but also its transmission. ‘There is with, we are not in a position to design and In the pink
a big area of the car we have very little control manufacture our own gearbox.’ Despite the consistent form of the cars the
over, including the power unit and the gearbox The rear suspension of the car was, as was engineers at Force India are not content, even
main-case,’ Green says. ‘That means we are common with all 2017 designs, something of a though the team is on target to match its
obliged to run the Mercedes pickup points. point of interest early in the season as a result best ever World Constructors’ Championship
of the FIA’s rules clarification on collapsible finishing position of fourth and there is still a
‘We are very sensitive to elements (see April 2017 V27N4) which allow
the car to vary rear ride height depending on
lot of work to do. ‘The cars tend to get more
complicated as they develop and generally
how low we can run the aerodynamic forces. Force India was not one
of the teams required to make changes and
more complicated components are heavier,’
Green says. ‘We are always developing the
stiffness is important’
car. ‘At the time we were not that happy about if you just let it develop. Every year you have to
the way the rules were going, but it’s all been drag the weight down again. Every single time
a part gets made, we are looking at ways of
making it lighter without losing performance.
It’s continual and it is always at the forefront of
everyone in the drawing office’s mind.’
This mission to cut the weight of both the
VJM10 and its 2018 successor has reached an
extreme level of detail. ‘All the departments look
at materials specifications, asking themselves
if they are using the right material, is there
something better,’ Green says. ‘They ask is
there a material that allows them to maintain
stiffness and reduce weight, things like that.
That is especially true in the composite
department where there is so much more
freedom to look at different materials.
‘They are always looking to see if some
material can be taken out of a component,’
Green adds. ‘If you take that material out it
makes it lighter; [and] it might make it more
flexible before it makes it slightly less strong.’
Roll hoop contains segmented air intakes with outer portions for the cooling while inner section directs air for combustion
Material world
Force India’s constant quest to get the best
materials is to an extent reliant not only
on finding new solutions but also proving
manufacturers’ claims. ‘We tend toward a lot of
static testing to validate materials, rather than
rely on simulation or the stated properties,’
Green says. ‘You find materials at the trade
shows or in magazines are so new that the
availability is very small, so we have to wait
months or even years for these to become
available to us in the quantity we need.
Sometimes there is a big lag between seeing the
materials and having a part ready to run on the
car. Also, bigger teams often get the parts ahead
of us as they are willing to pay a premium. We
have to wait a season or more to get it.’
Detail designs are then constantly adapted
on the VJM10 in order to further reduce its
weight. ‘Things are always being remade to save
weight,’ Green says. ‘It’s big parts, too. The floor,
With a lack of new regulation data pre-season, peak suspension loads were formulated with Eau Rouge at Spa in mind for example, is one of the heaviest components
on the car, and we are always looking to try to the VJM10, if we want to reduce the weight second iteration we are a lot more comfortable
take weight out every time a new one is made. of the car much more we are moving into with what we are seeing,’ Green says. ‘We have
We look at everything, even down to the way fundamentally redesigning the structures of the got data, and as we are a very data-driven team
we paint the car – is there a lighter weight pink car,’ Green says. ‘But for next year knowing what that is a good thing. We have gone through the
paint we can use? Do we have to have metallic the loads are we can now optimise and start first half of the season, we have gone through
elements in the paint which we might be able to to reduce weight for that design. However, the Spa and we know what loads we have seen,
get rid of, that alone could save 300g. It’s even weight of the Halo and the mounting of it far we now know aerodynamically where we sit,
down to the thickness of stickers on the livery.’ exceeds the increase in minimum weight, we know where Pirelli have put the tyres and
The Force India weight loss project is only so we have to make big reductions again. It where on the compound range they sit, and we
set to get harder in 2018 with the addition of is 100 grams here and 50 grams there, luckily have some idea what they are doing next year,
the new Halo cockpit protection device. ‘With there is some margin to get weight out. So our going one step softer. Next year is looking a lot
target is again to get the car on the weight limit better in terms of the accuracy of the data we
‘We still manage to shed and that is a big challenge, probably a bigger
challenge than it was this year.’
are working with and we are also starting to get
some carry-over parts which is good for a team
Finishing school
The 2018 F2 car is a far cry from the FIA’s original
intentions for its feeder category, but will the Dallara
F2/18 still deliver where it matters – preparing drivers
and engineers for F1? Racecar investigates
By SAM COLLINS
O
ne of the longest serving open- to have an open championship at this level, the in a one make series the emphasis must be in
wheel racecars of recent years costs would be too high, so the tender reverted allowing the cars to follow.
will be officially retired at Abu to a single make category. Also, to have a hybrid, ‘The third objective was controlling the cost
Dhabi in late November. Dallara’s it’s difficult to do it in a cost effective way, so we and keeping this as low as possible,’ Perrin adds.
GP2/11 is to be replaced in the FIA Formula 2 didn’t even look at it with the new car.’ ‘When I talk about the cost I’m not talking about
championship by an all new design from the the purchase cost of the car, I’m talking about
Italian constructor, called the F2/18. Key criteria the operating cost, that is what really makes the
Formula 2 was relaunched by the FIA at the With a single make series confirmed the task difference. That impacts the budget the driver
start of 2017, essentially a re-branding of the then fell to Perrin and his staff to define what has to pay to race for a season, so a key point
existing GP2 Series. But when the tender for a exactly the car would be, and after some is that the car must be reliable and easy to run
promoter for the ‘new F2’ was first announced in contemplation three key criteria were set. ‘From with a limited number of people. That must
2015, the proposed technical regulations were the beginning the main aim was to increase be in mind from the beginning of the design
very different to that of GP2. Indeed, it called for the safety standards, as we wanted to be process. If the car is too complex or needs too
a multi-chassis, open wheel series using hybrid the ultimate in safety, then the second most many people to run it, there is no way that you
powertrains. ‘The tender had to change, it important element was the show,’ Perrin says. can have an affordable racing season.’
needed to be a single make chassis rather than ‘The cars must be able to follow each other and One additional criteria for the chassis was
an open class,’ Didier Perrin, technical director race, that is the key aim with the aerodynamics. also set to deal with a trend among young
of F2 says. ‘It is the most efficient way to do In an open championship the aerodynamics drivers, and is something that is intended to
affordable motor racing. Open championships are developed to produce the most efficient increase the size of the talent pool. ‘It may
cost so much more and there was no possibility package possible in terms of performance, but sound minor, but something we had to deal
Above: The cockpit features extra Zylon panels which has had
the knock on effect of increasing the car’s weight. It has also
been designed so that taller race drivers can be accommodated
Right: The Halo fitted on the launch car was actually a dummy.
The car was not originally going to include the new safety device
and Dallara has had to design-in extra hard points on the chassis
Halo there
One of the most distinctive features of the
Dallara F2/18 is the Halo cockpit protection
system which, of course, will be a feature of all
Formula 1 cars in 2018, too. However, when
the racecar was designed it was not thought
that it would feature at all, leaving the Dallara
engineers with something of a headache.
‘While the shape of the tub was conceived
to fit the Halo in the first place, when we
started this project over two years ago, we then
decided that it would not feature it after all,’
Pignacca says. ‘Luckily we retained the shape
but the structure was not there for its mounting.
Because we didn’t think there would be Halo we
didn’t put in all the extra material and inserts it
needs. So we started production on the chassis
without the Halo mountings, and actually the
first three chassis we made did not have the
F2/18 features a Formula 1 style swept back front wing which has been optimised to minimise the wake mountings, but then the FIA decided that the
effect – the quality of the racing was one of three key criteria for Dallara when it was designing this car car should feature it after all. To install it you
need a lot more carbon fibre, and also hard
for us to fit it to the chassis and pass the FIA require such a high proof load. With the screen with the performance in GP3 this year shows
crash tests,’ Pignacca adds. we would not have needed to modify the shape that this is a very reliable engine. Mecachrome
The car seen in the pictures on these pages or structure of the monocoque. You would have have done a very good job.’
is one of those first three chassis built, which to add some brackets and fairings but not much.’ Perrin’s second biggest objective was
will be used for initial testing but not racing. perhaps the hardest for Dallara to achieve;
‘We have not yet received the definitive Halo,’ Turbo power to ensure the racing was good and that the
Pignacca says. ‘The one on the launch car is a As the chassis design and development was cars could pass each other. ‘Overtaking is
dummy, but looking at the CAD we believe that ongoing, Mecachrome was developing an all very complicated,’ Pignacca says. ‘If I knew
the extra weight due to the device itself and the new turbocharged V6 engine to power the exactly how to design a car so it overtakes
mounting points and extra material required new car. The base 3.4-litre engine made its well that would be priceless. It’s not just aero,
in the chassis is around 10 to 12kg. The F1 guys race debut in 2016 fitted to the GP3 series cars, it is a combination of things, like the tracks for
have to do the same, but the weight will be a bit albeit in normally-aspirated trim. In Formula 2 example. We know very well that some cars can
lower as they are using better materials.’ specification with its single turbocharger the race well on some tracks but not on others; the
One of the reasons for the uncertainty unit delivers 620bhp at 8750rpm. power, the weight, it all plays a role.’
surrounding integration of the Halo was down ‘One of the reasons we have a turbocharged
to the fact that Formula 1 was experimenting engine in F2 was due to the fact that we wanted F1 lookalike
with a partial canopy during the mid part of to have something that really prepared the The F2 organisation wanted its racecar to look
2017, and at one time this looked more likely to drivers for Formula 1,’ Perrin says. ’In Formula 1 like a current Formula 1 car so it features a swept
be used in both F2 and Formula 1. ‘Going to the with the current hybrid power units, you have back front wing, large bargeboards and a low
screen was not as difficult as the Halo,’ Pignacca a lot of torque. That means that the power and wide rear wing, featuring DRS.
says. ’As the structure and its design did not curve of an F1 car now compared to five years ‘We can control some of the factors which
ago is much flatter, and one way to have this, influence overtaking,’ says Pignacca. ‘We did a lot
other than having a hybrid system, is to use a of CFD work to make sure it was no worse than
‘One of the reasons we high capacity engine with a turbo. This is why
we moved to the current engine; we needed a
with the old car which actually works pretty well
in terms of overtaking. So with the new front
engine was due to the years ago for F2, but the same base unit was also
used for GP3. That has allowed us to check the
key; the wake of the car and how the following
car reacts to it. The DRS carries over in terms
Together as one
BE ONE WITH IT
The aero package is significantly more potent than that of the GP2/11
tyre could cope with that a bit better. I think we
can transfer that experience to the F2 tyre.’
The third of the objectives for the Dallara
F2/18 was to keep running costs as low as
possible for the teams and that has resulted
in much of the mechanical design of the car
carrying over from the GP2/11.
‘We did not want to make a completely new
car, we wanted to carry over some components
from the old car, for example the hubs,’ Pignacca
says. ‘We are aware that teams are under budget
pressures so we tried to change as few of the
parts as possible to help the teams keep costs
down. The rear dampers, for example, are a
direct carry-over, but the uprights, for instance,
have a slight modification to increase their
life. They are interchangeable with the old
ones, though, so the teams can keep the old
ones as emergency spares. The gearbox main-
case carries over, too, along with the internals,
but the bellhousing has had to be changed
as you would expect to accommodate the
new engine. The rear crash structure is the
same, as is the suspension geometry.’
Switching over
TECH SPEC The aerodynamic package of the F2/18 is Not everything on the racecar is a carry-over,
claimed to be significantly more potent than of course, with Perrin deciding to make a
Dallara F2/18 Formula 2 that of the GP2/11, but the overall performance significant change and upgrade to the latest
Monocoque and Bodywork: Survival cell, sandwich Carbon/ is expected to be similar. ‘The brief was also to specification electronics package from Magneti
aluminium honeycomb structure made by Dallara. Front and improve aerodynamic performance to offset Marelli. ‘It has a lot more potential to introduce
rear wing, carbon structures made by Dallara. Bodywork,
carbon/Kevlar honeycomb structures.
the weight increase, but the weight penalty is things like electronic marshalling, VSC [virtual
Engine: V6 3.4-litre single turbocharged Mecachrome engine;
pretty big so we will not be faster than the old safety car] conditions, and in general there is a
620bhp at 8750rpm; drive-by-wire throttle; rebuild after 8000km; car,’ Pignacca says. ‘The power level is about lot more scope for development and upgrade,’
maximum Torque 600Nm. the same but with better torque. Then there he says. ‘The previous system had about
Transmission: 6-speed longitudinal Hewland sequential are the tyres. My impression is that these tyres reached its limit in terms of capability.’
gearbox with electro-hydraulic command via paddleshift from are better for overtaking than the wide ones The first F2/18 chassis has completed its
steering wheel; ZF SACHS carbon clutch; anti-stall system;
non-hydraulic ramp differential. used in F1, but tyres are critical and if you lose initial track running in private with further tests
Electronics: Magneti Marelli SRG 480 ECU/GCU including
[performance] by locking up, then drivers don’t scheduled for the winter when teams start to
data logging system; Magneti Marelli PDU 12-42 power supply take risks for overtaking. I’m quite curious to see receive their cars, and there seems to be some
management unit; CAN data acquisition pre-equipment; how the tyres work with that extra torque.’ optimism about its performance from those
Beacon receiver.
who created it, even though it may be slower
Suspension: Double steel wishbones, pushrod operated, twin
dampers and torsion bars suspension (F) and spring suspension (R);
Slick work than the car it replaces. ‘When we specified the
adjustable ride height, camber and toe; two way (F), four way (R) As is the case currently, the tyres on the F2/18 F2 car we believed that the performance level,
adjustable Koni dampers; adjustable anti-roll bar (front/rear). will be supplied by Pirelli, and will be the same in terms of lap time was about right,’ Perrin
Steering system: Non-assisted rack and pinion steering system; size as those used on the GP2/11. ‘We get data says. ‘It’s what we need to prepare drivers for
XAP steering wheel with dashboard, gear change and clutch paddles, from Dallara, and we saw no reason to change Formula 1, so we did not ask for a faster car. We
plus marshalling and VSC display.
the size of the tyres,’ Mario Isola, Pirelli’s racing are not looking for the optimum, the last two or
Brakes: 6-piston monobloc Brembo callipers; carbon-carbon
manager says. ‘I think this is the right size and three tenths per lap, we don’t care about that,
brake discs and pads.
I believe we have a good product so there is all we need is a good tool to prepare the drivers
Wheels and tyres: F1 2016 standard wheel dimensions; OZ Racing
magnesium rims; F2 specific Pirelli slick/wet tyres. no need to make something completely new. for Formula 1 at the same time as providing a
Fuel cell: FIA Standard Premier FT5 125 litres. We will have to look and see as there will be good show on track. It’s clear to us that this car
Dimensions: Overall length: 5224mm (was 5065mm); overall width:
some impact from the new engine. Obviously, has a lot more development potential than the
1900mm (unchanged); overall height: 1097mm including FOM roll because of the different torque level and the old one, and it is more versatile.’
hoop camera (was 1072mm); wheelbase: 3135mm (was 3120mm). weight distribution change we will have to do It might not be the F2 first envisaged when
Weight: 720kg (including driver). some fine tuning to get the best product. the FIA decided to relaunch the category, but
Performance: Acceleration: 0 to 100km/h, 2.90s; 0 to 200 km/h, ‘When we started in Formula 1, it became the Dallara F2/18 is certain to play a key role in
6.60s. Maximum speed, 335km/h (Monza aero + DRS); max braking very apparent that the torque level had an the future careers of many drivers, and indeed
deceleration -3.5g; max lateral acceleration +/- 3.9g
impact on the heat level at the rear, especially engineers, in the years to come. If it is useful
on the centre of the tread,’ Isola adds. ‘We had to in this respect, then as a feeder formula car
modify the profile and the construction so the it will surely be seen as a success.
18 0 M P H W I T H O U T M O V I N G A N I N C H
Take cutting-edge wind tunnel technology. Add a 180 mph rolling road.
created the world’s first and finest commercially available full-scale testing
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INDYCAR – DALLARA DW12 (UAK18)
Style with
substance
The face-lifted 2018 Dallara DW12 IndyCar has been widely praised
for its sharp looks, but it also packs some serious safety and
aero-performance improvements. Racecar took a closer look
By MARSHALL PRUETT
T
he process of remodelling IndyCar’s formidable redesign process that will keep mandating more cladding with Zylon panels
Dallara DW12 with new bodywork the chassis in service through to at least the for 2014. Strengthening the cockpit ring was
for 2018 goes well beyond a 2020 season. ‘When it became clear that we also completed to bolster the primary aperture
beautification project that was long were going to do new bodywork, [IndyCar against deformation. Faced with adding more
overdue. For hidden beneath the new panels engineering director] Jeff Horton said that Zylon and more weight to address the problem,
that surround the 2012-era tub, wholesale we should work to improve the side impact Belli, Horton, and Dallara took a clean-sheet
changes to driver protection materials and structure beside the monocoque because it approach to the UAK18’s sidepods.
methodology have also been made. had been a little bit of an Achilles’ heel with the ‘Part of our requirement immediately was
Externally, a reversal of the DW12’s sidepod DW12 from the beginning,’ Belli says. we wanted to move the radiators forward for
layout with the upcoming UAK18 (universal aero aerodynamic reasons but also to get them in
kit 2018) has produced a proper ‘Coke bottle’ Side impact to help absorb some energy in the side impact,’
profile. Unlike the stock Dallara DW12 sidepods The problem was that with the narrow radiator Belli says. ‘Dallara did do some side impact tests
(2012-2014) and custom Chevrolet and Honda inlets next to the cockpit feeding oil and water on radiators full of water at a FIA-sanctioned
aero kits that replaced it (2015-2017), the UAK18 coolers positioned almost parallel with the crash testing station in Turin. And Jeff
will now employ a wide structure alongside its DW12’s rearmost bulkhead, the vertical walls determined that although the tests look
drivers that provides ample structure to crush. enclosing each driver were asked to withstand quite spectacular, the video looks spectacular,
IndyCar aerodynamic director Tino Belli, an impact with minimal g deceleration. the energy absorption from the radiator on
charged with the overall rethink on the DW12’s Injuries suffered by Sebastien Bourdais in its own was not sufficient.
UAK18 kit, performance levels, and safety 2012 and Justin Wilson in 2013, where heavy ‘We had the accelerations you got from the
improvements, talked Racecar through the objects pushed in a cockpit wall, led to the series radiator. And really the radiator crushes too fast
New road course aero package is capable of generating 5300lbs of downforce, which is a step down from the amount generated by the manufacturer kits; around the 6800lb region
and then gives you a high peak right at the driver’s upper torso, will also help to dissipate Walls separating the radiators from the tub
very end of the crash; obviously the art of the energy in an impact. The u-shape UAK18 are used to feed air and cooling to the 2.2-litre
energy absorption is to try and avoid the sidepod structures replace the crushable ‘teeth’ twin-turbo V6 engine and various electronics.
high peak g-loading. You really want a nice, that were used throughout 2017. The radiator ducting also carries miscellaneous
steady, even peak g-loading. ‘So we had a meeting in May before the electronic boxes as safety, heat rejection, drag,
‘So Jeff concluded that that wasn’t sufficient,’ Indy 500,’Belli says. “[IndyCar doctor] Dr Terry and downforce intermingle.
Belli adds. ‘He was pretty sure before we did Trammell, Jeff, myself, [IndyCar colleague] Bill
that test that that would be the case. The other Pappas, where we instructed Dallara that we Pipe dream
problem you often have with just radiators is, wanted the side impact structure that they ‘At one time we were going to have a common
in a pure side impact, they crush, but when you had designed for the top bonded to the turbo inlet duct and a common filter, turbo,
get slight oblique impact they just lay over. That bodywork that goes on the side, and come pre-turbo filter,’ Belli reveals. ‘But to not add a
really doesn’t do you any good whatsoever. all the way down into the feed load, into the lot of cost on the engine side, we didn’t want
‘Then we took the FIA side impact criteria. lower skin of floor of the tub. to relocate the positions of the turbos. The
We adjusted them a little bit to the higher loads ‘And that’s what we have,’ Belli adds. ‘We’ve difference is, Honda has a turbo which is quite
that we see. Then we asked Dallara to design tried to put as much load as we can into the forward and low and Chevy has one which is
the leading edge of the sidepod so that it would dash bulkhead, into the seat-back bulkhead and mid-engine and a bit higher.
absorb more loading to satisfy the FIA tests. then into the floor of the tub. So that if the car ‘We came to the conclusion very early on
‘One of the [different things] that we did gets up and hits at a bit of an angle, which does that it was going to be almost impossible. So
here, was when an engineer picks up, you give happen, we just wanted as good a structure for the inlet to the turbo and the water piping and
him test criteria. [He will] then design just to different directions of impact.’ the oil piping are the lifeblood of the engine
pass that test, so you’re once again back into as Marvin Riley, our engine director, says. He
pure side impact, and the structure, which is Crash testing thought it was better to allow the engine
basically the top of the side part, would’ve acted Rigorous side impact crash testing for the manufacturers to design their own lifeblood.
perfectly. But if you had a slight angle to the UAK18 will now become standard fare, too. ‘We left a gap between the radiator and
impact, up or down or forwards or backwards, ‘What we will plan to do, and we haven’t done it the side of the monocoque and we said, “Hey
it would probably just take that structure and yet because you’re always battling time, is to do your turbo inlet has to come through this gap.”
snap it off, which we wanted to avoid.’ the side impact tests from a number of angles,’ And then we also specified that the turbo inlet
Belli says. ‘And then over the next year or two we mustn’t be visible, when looking at the car from
Crushable structure will be comparing test results vs actual results. the side. With no shuttering on the radiator inlet,’
Dallara’s UAK18 solution was to create a large, Which should give us a much better picture of Belli says. ‘We did that because we didn’t want
dense, leading-edge sidepod structure to what we need to achieve when we do our next them making the turbo inlet come all the way
be retrofitted, that will compress and act as racecar. It’s a constant evolution.’ down to the front suspension.
a proper crushable structure. Repositioned The DW12’s new sidepods are a maze of ‘After that, they’re responsible for the
radiators, which now fall in line with the packaging and multi-purpose serving of needs. cooling of their electronics which fits behind
‘We’ve tried to put as much load as we can into the dash bulkhead,
into the seat-back bulkhead, and then into the floor of the tub’
34 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2017
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Dallara created a large leading-edge sidepod design that will compress and act as a crushable structure. Repositioned radiators, designed to be in line with the race driver’s upper
torso, will also help to dissipate energy in an impact. New sidepods are now packed with parts, while walls between the sidepods and the tub are used to channel cooling air to engine
the radiator instead of beside the radiator.’ Belli ‘Initially, without the tyre ramps that Coke margin, came in at 6826lbs, according to a
adds. ‘And they have to take the air for cooling of shape actually didn’t work very well. When we leading race engineer with knowledge of both
the electronics and for the turbo inlet through re-introduced the tyre ramps, which we needed of the kits. Restoring lift/drag sanity was always
this gap that we gave them down the side of the to do on the super speedways for drag because on the cards for the UAK18.
radiator and tub. So as of now we don’t know we’re trying to hit similar speeds in qualifying
that it’ll be amalgamated with the engine. The to what we have now, maybe a little bit slower, Clipped wings
designs are not final. [This is] something you will they energised that Coke shape. ‘The maximum downforce for the car, we really
see probably in the New Year.’ ‘They push the air down, up over the wanted to bring it down and we targeted
underwing and then the efficiency of the car 5000lbs,’ Belli says. ‘It’s capable of 5300 with
Aero tweaks was very, very good,’ Belli adds. ‘And removing everything. We had a bit of luxury in that area
Ridding the DW12 of its limited visual appeal the rear wheel guards, that was a significant that we could generate more downforce from
was the first priority for IndyCar. Second came drag increase. So hitting that drag number was the floor. So we filled in the hole near the
the desire to carve a significant amount of probably our hardest target. When we put the leading edge behind the front tyre which had
potential downforce from what the Chevy and tyre ramps back in, in fact, in speedway format, been introduced with the aero kits. Mainly
Honda aero kits produced. With side impact it was too efficient early on. The car would because the manufacturers have done a better
improvements duly made, and the overall look have been too easy to drive in the race. Our job than anticipated and we had to take some
of the car vastly enhanced, Belli and Dallara target for Indy was to keep it the same. I think downforce away from them. And we had the
went to work on the UAK18’s aero performance we had very interesting, very competitive luxury of putting the strakes and the sidewalls
in and around the new sidepods. exciting racing there. We had to play around to back in because once again, we took them
‘The interesting thing is, in moving the get those numbers to be the same.’ away for the aero kits because their numbers
radiators forward we’ve got a much gentler Maximum road course downforce for the were really just way too good. We managed to
Coke feed in the back of the diffuser,’ Belli says. Chevy kit, which topped the Honda by a modest put a lot more downforce onto the floor.’
‘Front road course flaps are about 73 per cent the size of current flaps’
36 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2017
Exhibiting at:
Exhibiting at:
INDYCAR – DALLARA DW12 (UAK18)
Top pictures: The difference between the sidepod leading edge treatment on this year’s version of the DW12 (left) and the new bodykit. Bottom two pictures show the super speedway
configuration of the new and old (top) kits. IndyCar was pleased with the way the racecar performed at the Indianapolis 500 this year and wanted to retain a similar aero performance
Adjustments to the sizing with some of we’d been wearing them away and we wanted due to losing more than 1500lbs of downforce,
the topside wings helped pare the downforces to reduce the amount of wear that we get on the straightline gains have kept lap times nearly
and drag figures down to IndyCar’s new goal. them. So they’re a little bit higher next year. identical to the DW12 in 2017 trim.
‘The front road course flaps are about 73 per It was playing with all those bits and pieces. ‘The thing that happened with the DW12
cent the size of the current ones,’ Belli says. ‘The Essentially the car, in road course trim ,if you when it first came out was the underwing was
rear one’s a lot smaller. We’ve used things like look at the efficiency line, the L over D line, it’s widened to the maximum width of the car to
that. Obviously we had the ability, because we identical. It’s identical until you get to maximum try and prevent interlocking wheels, which I
write the rules. We widened the rear wing a downforce and then you just can’t quite get as think it’s been very successful at,’ Belli says. ‘As a
little bit, which is always good. Aspect ratio’s much maximum downforce out of it as you did consequence of that, the way the car produces
always good. We widened the front wing main with the manufacturer aero kits.’ its downforce is not with very high amounts of
plane flaps a little bit to try and get the front In concert with changes to the floor in suction. It’s been quite low amounts of suction
downforce without so much flap angle. road course configuration, the rebalancing of but on a large area. I wasn’t around when
‘We lost a little bit off the front,’ Belli adds. downforce has boosted top speeds by as much the DW12 was conceived, so I don’t know if
‘We raised the endplates a little bit because as 10mph. Despite the slower cornering speeds it was intentionally conceived that way. But
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music
Hyundai’s rasping WRC powerplant has
impressed this season, powering the
H
yundai’s time-scale for setting up its
motorsport operation was nothing
if not ambitious. Announced at the
Paris Motor Show in October 2012,
the budget allocation was in place when team
principal Michel Nandan joined the company
in January 2013. At that time building work was
just under way at the Alzenau, Germany HQ.
An i20 World Rally Car had already been
designed and built at Hyundai’s Research and
i20 to three victories. Racecar traces Development Centre in Samyang, South Korea,
and, as more Hyundai Motorsport employees
the development of the Korean firm’s were taken on at Alzenau, major revisions to
first wholly in-house built engine evolve this car took place in Germany; ostensibly
to improve reliability and component access,
By MARTIN SHARP but also to aid its competitiveness.
But the Korean company’s stated intention
had always been to create an autonomous
The new engine is adapted to podiums and 47 stage wins for the year boded
well for the next new car built to the all-new
suit the increased inlet restrictor 2017 FIA WRC technical regulations.
Between the end of 2015 and the beginning
The new powerplant has been effective – a win on Rally Poland one of three victories for the i20 in 2017, at time of writing Michel Nandan says engine development is ongoing
to the team effort but, with Girard’s family living crankshaft and connecting rods could be carried With the restrictor change for 2017 comes a
in France and him working in Germany, Nandan over to the current engine. new Garrett turbocharger. By allowing more air
fully appreciates his desire for better family While the cylinder block exhibits some to mix with fuel in the combustion chambers a
arrangements. Julien Moncet now heads-up the similarities to that used in 2016, the machined more volatile mixture is produced. But the FIA
engine department, having joined Girard’s early from solid alloy unit is a new design, optimised rules have not changed the maximum allowed
engine team from Toyota’s F1 programme. to integrate components and reduce weight. 2.5bar absolute WRC boost pressure. The net
Hyundai is not totally on its own with its Of course, the new engine is adapted to suit result is more maximum power at higher rpm
engine, though, and Pipo is still involved with the increased inlet restrictor diameter, meaning but no big change in maximum torque figure.
the operation; completing a limited amount of combustion chambers and pistons are different, Both maxima are produced higher in the rpm
parallel work on the 2017 WRC engine, while as is valve lift and geometry. range; but just slightly higher than before for
also building Hyundai Motorsport’s customer The very first i20 WRC engine ran with the torque, while max power is rather further
R5 engines and its TCR engines. Magneti Marelli fuel injectors, but Bosch units up the range. A less ‘driveable’ power curve for
were installed for the new engines in 2016 most WRC engines is the result.
New formula and for this year, managed by Magneti Marelli Nandan says: ‘It’s true that in the beginning
The 2017 Coupe WRC car is, naturally, a new electronics. Nandan explains: ‘We compared the drivers were not really used to using the
homologation and its 36mm inlet-restricted both together and we still compare both types higher rpm, so yes they had to get used [to
engine (which is up from 33mm on the previous in order to get the best choice, and on last it] because in the end you can’t really change
WRC units) is said to be a ‘completely new’ year’s engine we had Bosch … and we still anything – it’s due to the restrictor size. The
design; although using the bore and stroke selected Bosch ones [this year] because we had only thing we were trying, was to try to get a
of the 2016 unit, so components such as the better performance with them.’ still wider range of the torque, in order that it
is much easier to use it. But for sure the fact
Corridors of power that they have to go higher in rpm, then it is
more [up to] the drivers to [adapt to] that [than
adapting the rpm range].’
H
yundai’s Alzenau-based in- addition to the dedicated engine colleagues on the event any
house engine department build team, engine department improvements that may Development
comprises engine staff at Alzenau remain on-site be of benefit to the team. Nandan also says that his engine team is
engineers and designers and, of during tests and rally weekends Sometimes there are just two constantly working on improvements. A July
course, engine builders. constantly monitoring and weeks between WRC rallies, so joker saw the introduction of a revised, more
Building a complete new analysing the performance of post-event engine rebuilds must durable, exhaust manifold after earlier cracking
engine requires about a week’s the power units. These people be both swift and methodical. problems were identified. Then, for Rally
work, but then post-event rebuilds deal with any real-time issues The process is a full strip- Germany in August, another engine joker was
can take around the same time. In arising, while also feeding back to down, a check, and then all the spent on revised Bosch injectors with different
consumables are replaced. Here, spray patterns. This improved power, and the
liaison between the team’s parts nature of the engine’s curve.
manager and its purchasing Thus far the engine has powered Neuville
department is crucial to ensuring to three WRC victories (in Corsica, Argentina
that the correct engine parts are and Poland) and at the time of writing the
available at the right time to be Belgian driver was second in the World Rally
fitted within the very tight time Championship, while Hyundai was also lying in
schedules the WRC demands. second place in the teams’ standings.
Once complete, a just-built For Rally Spain in October a third engine
or rebuilt engine will go to the joker is planned. At press time it’s work in
dynamometer for checking, then progress, but the intention is to improve
back to the engine workshop for a combustion further, most specifically
After each rally the engines are fully stripped down at Hyundai’s Alzenau HQ final pre-event check. through changes to piston design.
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BAJA 1000 – SAFETY
When the
dust settles
How one man’s terrifying experience changed
the approach to safety on one of the toughest
motorsport adventures of them all – the Baja 1000
By DON TAYLOR
S
ome accidents change a competitor’s run-off areas, The Baja 1000 is one of those crazy (Utility Terrain Vehicles), quads and motorcycles,
attitude to motorsport safety forever. motorsport throwbacks, like say, the Isle of Man broadly varying in size, weight, and speed.
Here’s the incident in 2010 that did TT, that you sometimes can’t quite believe still With a low barrier to entry, people can take
it for Roger Norman, then a Trophy take place. It is a non-stop, all-out run down their old motorcycle or UTV and join in. There
Truck racer in the Baja 1000: the Baja peninsula of Mexico, a thousand miles are some riders and drivers coming over with
‘I was running at 120mph and he [a through the desert. It was started by a group Dakar experience and many from other forms of
motorcyclist] was going about 25mph. I was of adventurous California enthusiasts and this racing give it a try as well. But compared to the
getting ready to pass two other Trophy Trucks. November will mark the annual contest’s 50th Dakar Rally, this event is a non-stop, non-staged
He thought it was clear because two trucks went consecutive running (see box out). affair that runs through the night, over terrain
by, and he didn’t realise that there was a third that often requires plenty of suspension travel.
truck that was going way faster than the first Desert dust-up The route is changed from year to year,
two. And I hit him … I only saw him for maybe a Last year, 26 classes competed, with the making every race different. There is a time limit,
half second, not enough time do anything on a participants aged from 16 to 79-years-old. That set at 36 hours in 2016. That year it took about
narrow dirt road … [I] knew he was dead.’ added up to more than 1100 drivers, co-drivers, 17 straight hours of non-stop driving to win.
A sobering incident, but before we look at and riders taking part, with some of them For decades the Baja races have been
the implications, a little Baja background might sharing driving stints, while others did it Iron sanctioned by SCORE-International (Southern
be in order. In a world of ever-safer racecars Man style, without relief. The vehicles include California Off Road Events). The storied Baja
and carefully architected circuits with generous a wide variety of trucks, buggies, ATVs, UTVs 1000 is the Big Kahuna of the annual SCORE
series, which is bundled with a handful of other, accident with the sportsman motorcycle rider rider, Tim Nugent, became best friends, with a
shorter desert races, also in Mexico. in the dust shook me to the core. I have been shared purpose. ‘He and I tried to change the
As Norman, who is now the owner of SCORE, devastated and demoralised since Saturday’s sport, not to change the tradition of the sport,
says: ‘Our races are unique and very dangerous. race,’ he told fellow competitors at the time. but to figure out a way to make it safer … And
Every single race mile is different. We’ve had ‘I can tell you that until you run someone we were not successful,’ Norman says.
racecars go into the ocean, 27ft under water. over, while in the dust of another Trophy
We’ve had racecars go off 300ft cliffs.’ Truck, at over 100mph, you will simply not Wealth and safety
And it’s had trucks hitting bikes, as we learnt understand the devastating feeling. They made a lot of noise, but little changed, as
in the opening to this piece. So what happened ‘The next guy will not be so lucky, and I most participants liked the spirit and tradition
next? Well, the rider was not dead after all, to want to avoid any of you from having this of a wild-ass event of few rules and restrictions,
Norman’s immense relief and surprise. Norman pain and fear I have felt,’ Norman added. ‘The a real test of man against the elements, in a
was able to get him evacuated by helicopter incident could have happened to any one of country not known for road safety.
and then to hospital. The rider did fully recover, us, and unless we do something to force the And then, with long-time SCORE owner/
a major achievement for the man, considering issue, then nothing will be done.’ promoter Sal Fish retiring in 2013, SCORE, and
he endured the mending of 28 broken bones Loving the sport as much as he does, the Baja 1000, was up for sale. Norman, a real
and underwent some 30 surgeries. Norman continued to race in the Baja for several estate development entrepreneur in everyday
But while Norman was physically unharmed years, but was now consumed with the goal of life, saw an opportunity. He saw an opening to
in the incident, it certainly had an impact. ‘The improving its safety, while he and the downed grow the series, and perhaps more importantly,
Dust to dust
This year SCORE has also adopted an electronic
It takes at least 17 hours or so to complete the Baja so some night driving is inevitable – which explains all those spotlights technology solution, with the use of the Stella
III, which is a GPS tracker, as well as a vehicle-
to-vehicle signalling device. This is a product
developed for off-road and rally racing by
Anube Sport America. It radically reduces the
unknowns in the passing of motorcycles, but
also for passing any other slower competitor,
as every vehicle racing, large or small, fast or
slow, must be so equipped.
Basically, Stella III is a dash-mounted box
with lights and buttons that has the ability to
send basic messages between vehicles, be
used for tracking and scoring, and, if necessary,
it can send an SOS to race control.
Norman says: ‘There’s a blue button that
allows you to warn the person ahead of you
that you’re passing, and if they, say, are on a
motorcycle then they have to get out of the way.
So if they hit their blue button, basically they’re
saying they’re clear, they’re off the course, go!
It can be difficult to see other, sometimes vulnerable, competitors such as bikers in the dust that’s thrown up during the Baja It’s just the cars in your class that don’t want to
get out of the way. You just have to prove you’re to get a little actively engaged, and while in by the serious fans of the sport. ‘They post the
actually fast enough to get by them.’ Formula E fans might vote for a favourite driver dumb things that happen at each race and
In that case the traditional ‘I want to pass to get more power-to-pass, Baja racing fans are make fun of the idiots who are doing these
you’ signal, which is to give a stiff love tap to much more hands on. Literally. stupid things,’ Norman says. ‘So it’s made it very
the other car’s rear bumper, can be used. This Norman says: ‘Our spectators are interactive. unpopular to be an idiot in Baja, and that’s done
is actually often necessary as lights and sirens, It’s not like at other sporting events, where an awful lot, just by people seeing this, and by
which are also used as alerts, are lost in the huge the spectators are just sitting there in seats promoting that these people are not cool. It’s
dust clouds and the engine noise. watching, our spectators like to get involved, not cool to do that kind of stuff.
The Stella 3 can also tell approaching racers and help make jumps to make the racing ‘Of course, what happens, happens in the
if there’s another vehicle stopped up ahead, or if more exciting, or dig ditches, or pull some old middle of nowhere, and no one has control
they are about to enter a limited-speed zone, so junk car out on to the course. You have to deal of people out there. But fortunately more
they can prepare to slow down. with booby traps. Crazy things like that have people are taking it on themselves to be much
As for chase vehicle safety, new guidelines happened.’ You can also add to that the chance more respectful of the racecars.’
are also in place regarding driver and crew of encountering a large farm animal. The Baja region does appreciate having the
behaviour, with the possible consequence of race, with the business and exposure it brings,
team disqualification if they’re not followed. Matador madness though, and that helps. ‘We’re getting a lot
But it’s not just vulnerable competitors With 1000 miles of track you can’t provide more help from the military, and the police,
and support crews that need protection, a continuous barrier, of course. At the Baja federal, state and local agencies down there.
there are the Baja spectators to think about, start and finish line areas, spectator fences are We have about 20 meetings now, per race,
too. Providing spectator safety is critical in all erected. But elsewhere spectators can stand regarding safety,’ Norman says.
types of racing, and the responsibility lies with at the edge of the course or even right on it, To help control spectators, unlike in the past,
everyone involved in conducting the event. playing a game of chicken, messing with the there are also now enforceable laws against
What makes this a little challenging on the drivers and riders. Much like The Running of the interfering with the race course and vehicles.
Baja is that the spectators have been known Bulls in Pamplona, the goal is to move out of
the way at the last instant, while touching the Emergency cover
speeding beast as it goes by. Except in this case Improving medical resources and responses
allows you to warn the on the course, fans can also become engaged by
moving the directional signs along the course,
para-medivac service,’ he says. ‘When we started
this, we found out that every ambulance had
When then truck racer Roger Norman (left) hit motorcyclist Tim
Nugent (right) in 2010 his attitude to safety on the Baja changed Baja race trucks pack sturdy cages. There have been just three fatalities in caged vehicles over past 49 years
SCORE bought them dozens. ‘The nice thing is vehicle. But the first one on the scene is most It should also be noted here that as well as
anything we buy them saves lives throughout all often another competitor and one of the many the previously mentioned Stella 3 signalling
the year. It’s not like we’re just buying it just for things that Norman has implemented is a Good device, riders and drivers are encouraged to
our organisation,’ says Norman. Samaritan rule. When other teams stop and also be equipped with a SPOT Personal Tracker
Norman’s personal paramedic from when render service to downed riders or crashed device. Used by outdoor adventurers and
he was racing, plus many other volunteers, also trucks there is no penalty for lost time. There is workers, it is a GPS tracker, plus an emergency-
come down from the US to assist Cruz Roja in an adjustment made to their total elapsed time. signal sender. It can also send pre-recorded
training workers before events. messages to friends and family.
‘We have a rescue helicopter, we have Roadside assistance To reinforce SCORE’s safety message
a rescue airplane, and we have about 23 That provides an incentive for racers to stop, to competitors, in July, Norman, acting
ambulances. But it can be an hour for someone and with the Stella III system, Race Control in partnership with the Stand 21 Safety
to get to you, especially at night, because knows pretty quickly who had the problem, who Foundation, presented a “Second Annual
nobody’s allowed to fly at night, by law.’ stopped to assist, and for how long. ‘We know SCORE Safety Conference”. It brought in such
To help themselves after an incident – within five to ten minutes what we are crediting motorsport safety experts as Dr Steven Olvey,
before other assistance arrives – all teams are those people. That allows teams to not worry veteran IndyCar medical adviser, who talked
required to carry emergency signalling devices, about stopping, because it’s a timed event. about concussions, explaining how the teams
survival supplies, and a first aid kit aboard their Every race we have one or two cars stop to help could do a quick field assessment, and what to
somebody. All we then have to do is verify that do next if concussion is suspected.
Much like The Running of the accident really happened, and that they
were really stopping to help, not to work on Final SCORE
the Bulls in Pamplona, the their car. We haven’t had a problem with that
yet, but we do watch for it just in case.’
After four and a half years of hard work to
improve his sport’s safety, Norman now says:
Just deserts
T
his year’s 50th running of the world’s oldest, longest
and continuously held desert race, will get more
attention and up-close coverage than ever.
On top of this a new movie about the race has been made
by noted Hollywood director Dana Brown. He returns to the
desert with Dust2Glory, a documentary film project as a follow-
up to his original 2005 Dust to Glory film.
Qualifying for the Trophy Trucks takes place on October
31, 2017, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, during the
annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, which attracts over 150,000
attendees. The race itself starts in Ensenada BC, Mexico on
November 16, 2017, and concludes in La Paz BCS, Mexico with
awards presented on November 18, 2017.
This year sees the 50th running of the Baja 1000. Race organiser
SCORE also runs similar events such as the Baja 500 (pictured)
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Cams + Pulleys, Belts & Chains Valves & Valve Springs Performance Cam Kits & Valve Spring Kits Followers & Tappets
QUESTION of the moment comes from geometry and involves mounting one or both brake calipers
We run a car here in Australia based on an what part comes from the springs, bars, and on birdcages or brake floaters.
earlier generation V8 Supercar chassis, with dampers. It also doesn’t matter what portion A birdcage is a bracket that can rotate on
equal length four-link and a watts linkage. comes from what kind of spring (an anti-roll the axle tube, carrying two longitudinal links.
Usual set-up is parallel arm geometry, with bar being a type of spring). A brake floater is the same thing with just one
a slight amount of nose-down which gives A basic three-link can completely or link. There are also some other possibilities
a small amount of pro squat. The car has partially cancel torque roll and torque involving push bars or pull bars: links that only
approximately 640lb/ft at the flywheel, wedge. This involves either offsetting the work in one direction. In some cases these
and runs a 330mm wide rear tyre. top link to the right or angling the top link solutions may be legal when birdcages and
I have a question in three parts for you. A: in top view so that the front of the link brake floaters are prohibited.
We race against some TransAm racecars points to the right. If the top link is on centre
which almost all run a three-link, with quite and is not angled in top view, the three-link Lower roll centres
long lower arms. What are the relative does not reduce torque wedge. If torque wedge can be entirely cancelled, the
advantages of four- versus three-link in this need to maximise rear elastic roll resistance
tarmac racing application? Creative torque goes away. There is no longer any need to get
B: The second part of the question is about What we are doing with the offset or top-view- the rear roll centre extremely low. However, if
minimising torque wedge. We have been angled link is creating a leftward roll moment desired, there are ways to get the roll centre
experimenting with running a stiffer rear anti- in the suspension under power, using axle a bit lower than is possible with the layout
roll bar with a lower roll centre, based on what I torque. This counters the rightward moment shown below, while still using a Watt linkage. It
read in one of your previous articles. Obviously resulting from driveshaft torque. is possible to turn the rocker ninety degrees
there is a finite limit for rear roll centre as the The usual problem with fully or partially and lay it flat. This is common in TransAm cars.
rocker will hit the ground. Is there a point cancelling torque wedge that way is that we Usually, the rocker is mounted horizontally
where lowering the roll centre and running also create a rightward roll moment in braking, to the underside of the diff. Structural
a stiffer rear anti-roll bar will start to impact when there is no driveshaft torque that we constraints permitting, there is a case
corner exit, even though the roll stiffness need to cancel. The geometry then needs to for mounting it to the frame instead, as in
remains the same, more or less? be a compromise, in which we accept some the layout below. That makes the rear roll
C: My final question is; is a three-link better roll and wedge in braking in return for partial centre rise and fall with the sprung mass,
than a four-link for minimising torque wedge? cancellation of roll and wedge under power. which is similar to the behaviour of an
And what, if anything, can we do with arm The way out of this, rules permitting, is to independent front suspension. It is necessary
angles that may help with this? make braking torque react differently through when using a horizontal rocker to make sure
the linkage than propulsion torque. This usually not to run the rod ends out of travel.
THE CONSULTANT
The main advantage of the three-link over
the four-link is that we can have some anti-
squat without having the suspension bind in
roll or creating roll oversteer.
The disadvantage of using more elastic
roll resistance and a lower roll centre is that
there is more wheel load change over one-
wheel bumps. However, there is also less
lateral displacement of the contact patches
with respect to the frame over one-wheel
bumps. This matters more when the tyres
have a lot of lateral stiffness.
As for effect on inside wheel loading when
exiting turns – or any other time – the total load
transfer (excluding the unsprung component)
is always the total roll resisting moment divided
Structural constraints permitting there is a case for mounting the rocker to the frame as in the layout shown here. This
by the track width, regardless of what portion makes the rear roll centre rise and fall with the sprung mass, similar in behaviour to an independent front suspension
A three-link can completely or partially cancel torque roll and torque wedge
NOVEMBER 2017 www.racecar-engineering.com 55
TECHNOLOGY – THE CONSULTANT
SUBSCRIBE
TO RACECAR
Springs, bars and
ENGINEERING caster jacking
The pros and cons of installing an anti-roll bar system
gy Since 1990
Leading-Edge Motorsport Technolo
Racecar Engineering
7
Volume 27
Porsch e at Le Mans QUESTION while providing the necessary roll resistance. When
ology transfer in the spotlight
• Techn
07
• Insight into R&D facility at Weissach I have a small formula car. It started life as an F-440. the racecar has a lot of downforce, and particularly
Track side support Porsche 919 Hybrid
I started rebuilding it a few years ago. It had rubber when the under-car aero is very sensitive to
shock absorber type units for suspension. I removed ground clearance and pitch angle, it then becomes
Technology firsts
those and fabricated in coilovers. The car has a solid necessary to use stiffer springs. The bars then
at Le Mans
rear axle, no differential. I run 10 degrees positive become more of a fine tuning tool.
There is also some advantage to running stiff
springs in a racecar without significant downforce:
the car can run with lower ride height, when it is
July 2017
Printtoarl
22/05/2017 10:29
Bar work
On racecars, and sometimes on street cars, we can
adjust the anti-roll bars, either by adjusting arm
When a racecar has a lot of downforce and under-car length or something else in the linkage, or with a
supave%
aero is sensitive to ground clearance stiffer springs rotating blade. When the bars are stiff relative to the
can be fitted, and then ARBs are used for fine-tuning springs, the car becomes more sensitive to these
44
adjustments. This is usually not a problem – just
caster; lots of positive caster helps transfer the something to be aware of. In some cases it can
to weight such that on cornering the inside rear tyre is be a problem. If the bars are very soft, it may be
unloaded, allowing it to slip more easily as it needs necessary to change bars to get a sufficient change
to travel a shorter distance than the outside rear in car behaviour. If the bars are stiff and adjustment
Get the latest product tyre. My question is, would installing an anti-roll can only be made by coarse increments, we may
system front and rear be counter-productive? find we’d really like a setting between two available
developments, technical If not, how much would you run in such a set- ones. But such situations are fairly rare.
insight and performance up – same as if the car had a differential, or some Caster jacking is affected not only by caster
analysis from the leading percentage less than that? angle but also by front-view steering offset or
motorsport technology scrub radius. It is fairly common on karts to adjust
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I
e of the main focuses at OptimumG.
n the racing industry, I often us to walk less in the dark. Second, a representation of all the possible articles, this is what we defined as
find engineers that perform an engineer may spend hours and states of the vehicle during a corner an oversteer behaviour. We give
simulations in the same way hours to find a set-up that works at a given speed. Even though we the name of grip and balance to,
barmen create cocktails: by perfectly in his computer, only to be simulate all the combinations of respectively, the lateral acceleration
(sometimes randomly) mixing told later by the driver that the car is steering wheel angle (δ) and chassis and the yaw moment of Point 3. The
ingredients and varying quantities undriveable. A set-up that exploits 75 slip angle (β) within a range, most grip is a rather obvious performance
until they eventually find something per cent of the car performance can of the time we are interested in metric of the car; as you maximise
that matches their taste. From be, on the track, quicker than a set-up only a few points of the diagram. the lateral grip of your car, it can
weight distribution to springs and that exploits the performance at 95 Point 2, for example, represents the drive faster in corners. The balance
aerodynamic balance, everything per cent. We need a set of criteria to maximum lateral acceleration of the is a good indicator of how oversteer
is changed to, after numerous link the perspectives of the driver car while having zero yaw moment. It or understeer will exhibit at the limit
consecutive approximations, find and the engineer. That is why the corresponds to a situation where the of the car’s lateral performance: the
the best possible outputs, the most concepts of grip, balance, control, vehicle is at the apex of a corner. The more positive the value is, the more
important one being the lap time. and stability are useful. To define overall maximum acceleration that oversteer the vehicle will have; the
The barman approach has two these concepts, we need to look at the car can reach at a given speed is more negative the value is, the more
main problems. First, simply varying the yaw moment diagram. represented by Point 3. Notice that, at understeer the car will have.
inputs and observing the changes in this point, the vehicle has a positive Take a look now at Point 1
outputs without understanding the The metrics resultant yaw moment. In other of Figure 1. This point is the
real reason behind those changes Figure 1 shows a typical constant- words, when the vehicle is at the limit intersection of the isolines of zero
can be very time consuming, since it speed yaw moment diagram. As of its performance, the tyre forces steering wheel angle and zero chassis
involves lots of trial and error. There explained in previous articles in this and moments result in too much yaw slip angle. It represents the car going
must be other methods that allow series, the yaw moment diagram is moment. As mentioned in previous in a straight line, where both lateral
There must be other methods that allow us to walk less in the dark
Figure 1: Yaw moment diagram at constant speed with CG slip angle (ß) and steering (б) isolines. We are usually interested in only a few points on the diagram
Degrees of stability
The concept of stability is derived
in an analogous way. We start off
again with the vehicle going in a
straight line (Point 1 of Figure 1),
then we give it an increase in one
degree of chassis slip angle (β). This
increase come from a disturbance
such as a bump on the track, a gust
of wind or, worse, another car hitting
it. Wherever the disturbance comes
from, we always want the vehicle to
go back to its trajectory instead of
spinning. In other words, the tyres
must generate forces and moments
which will result in a negative yaw
moment, and rotate the car back to
its original slip angle. The stability
is defined as the change in yaw
moment as you vary the chassis
slip angle by one degree. Therefore,
it represents the capability of the
vehicle to return to its trajectory after
a disturbance in its orientation. In the
yaw moment diagram, this situation Figure 3: Control and
!.' stability can be applied at any point
&/++ $# of the
" yaw moment diagram. This shows 400Nm of yaw
/2#
is represented by Figure 2b. The moment variation at four degrees of CG slip angle
" 1+ 1,(ß) with a steering angle variation (б) from 60 to 61 degrees
stability is calculated as the variation
of yaw moment as between two centre, but to any point of the yaw these calculations to data and and quickly make decisions about
lines of constant chassis slip angle moment diagram. Figure 3, for comments from the driver. which parameters of the car will be
(β) as you go along a line of constant example, shows the calculation of changed. In the consulting projects
steering wheel angle (in this case, δ = control for a steering wheel angle of Driver input that OptimumG performs at the
0). In the given example, the stability 60-degree and a chassis slip angle During a free practice session, racetrack, we always ask the race
is equal to -3156Nm/deg. The vehicle of four degrees, which can represent an engineer usually gets many drivers to rate the performance of
is more stable when the stability an instant when the vehicle is comments from the driver about the vehicle, at each corner (or even
value is lower (i.e. more negative). approaching the apex of the corner. the vehicle and various parts of at each section of each of the
It is important to mention that Once we have very clear notions the track. The job of the engineer corners), in three criteria:
the notions of control and stability of vehicle balance, grip, control, and is to be able to gather all these 1. Control. How well, for a given
can be applied not only to the stability, we can start associating comments (as well as vehicle data) amount of steering input, the
Target values
Let’s imagine a situation where the driver
rates the car control as 4/10 and the engineer
knows that, according to simulations, the
current vehicle set-up has a control of
150Nm/deg. By accessing the history of
previous testing sessions, the engineer finds
out that the driver had given a rating of 9/10
!.&
Figure 4: Accessing simulation data."! !
This shows the effect of various $on'
set-up parameters entry control for a set-up that had a control of 220Nm/
deg, so he knows what his target value is. The
question now is; which changes will he have
to make to reach the target value? This is
where simulation data becomes crucial.
Being able to access and visualise
simulation data is as important as performing
the simulation itself. A chart such as Figure 4,
for example, can help the engineer not only
decide which parameter to change, but also
the amount of the change. Since much of the
behaviour of the car is often very non-linear,
it is also interesting to calculate metrics as
you vary certain parameters within a range,
as shown in Figure 5. If you want to observe
the interaction between two parameters and
one of the metrics, a chart like that shown in
Figure 6 can be very useful. It displays the
Figure 5: Varying parameters. The effect of front and rear toe control and stability on corner entry value of balance as you very the stiffness of
!/' $ $ the front and rear anti-roll bars.
Useful tool
As I’ve been saying during this series of
articles about the yaw moment diagram,
this simulation method is not perfect for
many reasons (for example, the fact that
the calculation is steady-state based). In
fact, with so many parameters involved, all
simulation that you try won’t be perfect.
However, some of simulations can be useful,
and I can say that the yaw moment vs
/'+ (
CONTACT
Claude Rouelle
-+'+ (
Phone: + 1 303 752 1562
Enquiries: engineering@optimumg.com
Website: www.optimumg.com
N EW NERATION
2ND GEC O AP
D
OVE
PR E
TM
FA
I &A LI
LNG Y
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C ARREFUE
RACE
KRONT
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ASTRAßE19|93083OBE RT
RAUBL
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WWW.
KRONTEC.DE|RF
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0)94015253-
0
TECHNOLOGY – AEROBYTES
I
n this final instalment of our wind tunnel of improving downforce efficiency without a on track the two front flap arrangement would
study on the latest variant of the DJ Firestorm rearwards balance shift. Table 1 illustrates yield better downforce and efficiency.
UK hillclimb car, which uses the compact, how the data from this set-up compared In a further front wing CFD study in our
lightweight 2.5-litre V6 Cosworth KF ex-DTM with the baseline configuration. March 2017 (V27 N3) issue we saw that
engine for nimble handling and a compact Note that the data on the two narrow flaps directing more air outboard of the front wheels
overall package, we focus on the front wing and arrangement followed an upper front flap with devices attached to the front end plates
efforts at gaining more aerodynamic efficiency. adjustment to bring total downforce to a similar could increase underbody downforce. So two
With a power deficit to the competition, level to the baseline – by happy chance it devices were made for our wind tunnel trial to
efficiency was felt worthy of emphasis, along created exactly the same total downforce. Drag see what the effects would be. The first of these
with the usual quest for a good aero balance. was very similar, perhaps a tiny bit more, so were ‘flip outs’ or ‘flouts’, curved vertical plates
efficiency was a little bit lower. What did change that were attached to the outer face of the front
Flaps up though was the balance, there being a 79 count end plates that were intended to simply steer
The new Firestorm featured a not quite full gain at the front and a 78 count loss at the more air outboard of the front tyres. The
span single front wing flap in baseline rear (1 count is a coefficient change of 0.001), changes (∆ or delta values) are shown in
configuration, there being a narrow gap resulting in a 4.2 per cent front increase. counts in Table 2. Although a drag reduction
between the mounting plates under the nose. So this was a rather different result to the was achieved with the flouts, there was a clear
In a CFD study in our April 2014 (V24 N4) CFD trial, in that to retain the same downforce (balanced) reduction in total downforce and
issue we saw that narrower span flaps (with a level the balance shifted forwards, but also a reduction in efficiency.
bigger central gap) lost front wing downforce efficiency did not improve.
but enabled more underbody downforce to However, as discussed in our previous Flip side
be generated, thus achieving similar total instalments on the Firestorm, underbody Moving swiftly on to the next trial then, two
downforce but with improved efficiency. downforce seemed to be suppressed by the variants of front wing end plate flip ups, ‘flups’,
However, balance shifted rearwards. combination of low dynamic ground clearance were tried next, one was tapered, the other was
So, with this in mind, for our wind tunnel (the car visibly compressed its suspension as a simple rectangle. Table 3 shows the results.
trial we decided to use a pair of slightly air speed increased) and the wind tunnel’s These were rather more beneficial
narrower flaps each side of the nose in the hope stationary floor boundary layer. So perhaps out modifications, with modest drag reductions,
The DJ Firestorm was subjected to front wing tests in the MIRA full-scale wind tunnel This two-flap arrangement was compared to the baseline single flap set-up on the car
Table 1: Baseline data compared to the data with Table 2: The effects of ‘flouts’ on the
a pair of narrower front flaps each side fitted front end plates compared to the baseline
CD -CL -CLfront -CLrear %front -L/D ∆ CD ∆ -CL ∆ -CLfront ∆ -CLrear ∆ %front* ∆ -L/D
Baseline 0.775 1.892 0.547 1.345 28.9% 2.443 With flouts -8 -37 -11 -26 nil -24
With two narrow 0.778 1.892 0.626 1.267 33.1% 2.433 *Absolute rather than relative difference in percentage front.
front flaps
Flip outs (flouts), designed to steer more air outboard of the front tyres, were investigated Two types of ‘flups’ were tried. The tapered variant was half-width at the leading edge
VEEPs (vortex entraining end plates). This combination of designs worked very well
Table 5: The effects of quarter cones and
inverted U-channels in the VEEPs
∆ CD ∆ -CL ∆ -CLfront ∆ -CLrear ∆ %front* ∆ -L/D It is abundantly clear that
the VEEPs benefitted more
¼ cones only exposed -1 -3 -3 -1 -0.1% -2
¼ cones and inverted +3 +32 +35 -4 +1.4% +32
U-channels exposed
*Absolute rather than relative difference in percentage front. than just the front wing
up to 10 per cent more front downforce, and a quarter cone at the rear, lower corner. forwards balance shift and 1.3 per cent better
useful forwards balance shifts and up to 1.6 The results were pretty extraordinary, and efficiency. Perhaps one difference between our
per cent improvement in efficiency (-L/D). It is are repeated in Table 4 for reference. It is wind tunnel trial and our earlier CFD trial was
noteworthy that the gains in front downforce abundantly clear that the VEEPs benefitted that the flap angle tested in the wind tunnel
(in counts) were almost exactly matched by the more than just the front wing. was not steep enough for outer flap stall to
losses of rear downforce. It isn’t possible In our CFD-based feature in V27 N3 we occur, and hence the quarter cones brought no
to know exactly from where the benefits saw that one effect of the quarter cone was advantage. Further investigation is warranted.
accrued in the wind tunnel, although to eradicate partial stall on the outer part of Racecar’s thanks goes to Richard and Alex
simplistically the flups will have been acting the flap and increase front wing downforce. Summers and the DJ Engineering crew.
like simple inverted wings and generating their The longitudinal inverted U-channel was not
own increments of downforce. However, in our evaluated in that exercise. So could we isolate CONTACT
CFD trials earlier in the year it was evident that each of these features in turn in the wind tunnel Simon McBeath offers aerodynamic
the wing’s own downforce was also increased and measure their effect? We first of all covered advisory services under his own brand of
by flups, as was that of the underbody. the quarter cones and the inverted U-channels SM Aerotechniques –
to create a flat footplate; then in turn the www.sm-aerotechniques.co.uk.
VEEP treatment quarter cones were uncovered and then both
In these pages he uses data from MIRA
to discuss common aerodynamic issues
When we tested the original DJ Firestorm in the inverted U-channels and the quarter cones faced by racecar engineers
the MIRA wind tunnel six years ago (issues V21 were uncovered, with the results relative to the
N3 to N5) we compared simple flat front end flat footplate shown in Table 5.
Produced in association with MIRA Ltd
plates with so-called VEEPs or vortex entraining This was a surprising result in that exposing
end plates. The VEEPs were 100mm wide each the quarter cones alone appeared to have a
side, bringing the front wing assembly up to small negative effect. However, exposing the
the maximum permitted 1500mm front wing combination of the quarter cones with inverted Tel: +44 (0) 24-7635 5000
width, and featured a longitudinal inverted U-channels had a beneficial effect, with seven Email: enquiries@horiba-mira.com
U-shaped channel in the horizontal foot plate, per cent more front downforce, a useful Website: www.horiba-mira.com
STARTS HERE
2017
December 7–9, 2017
Disc world
The demands placed on motorsport brakes and braking systems
have never been greater, but thankfully the development of retardation
technology is – ironically enough – unstoppable. Racecar investigates
By GEMMA HATTON
B
rake-by-wire was introduced in F1 the energy used from the rears with the energy whereas, Singapore, Monza and Canada require
together with the revolution of the that is being recovered and ensure that there is a lot more performance and so would use the
1.6-litre V6 turbo powertrains back no remaining force when the driver releases the high cooling disc, with 1300 ventilation holes.
in 2014. These dramatic rule changes pedal, which could lead to the wheels locking. Maintaining the brakes within the optimum
allowed a maximum of 2MJ of energy per lap This year’s wider tyres and higher downforce temperature window is one of the race
to be recovered through the rear brakes and has increased the wheel torque by roughly 20 engineer’s main challenges and is a balancing
so the engine manufacturers developed their per cent, demanding more from the brakes. act. The pads and discs need to be hot to give
own MGU-K (Motor Generator Units – Kinetic). Therefore, the carbon discs are wider on both the brakes ‘bite’, which is why at the start of
These systems can transfer a maximum of the front and rear, with an increase in thickness most races, when the brakes are cold, drivers
4MJ per lap from the energy store back to the from 28mm to 32mm. The aluminium lithium often struggle around the first few corners,
drivetrain during acceleration, which equates to monobloc calipers are larger, each weighing an until the brakes are up to temperature. The heat
approximately 160bhp for 33 seconds each lap. extra 300g, as the wider tyres allow more space generated from the brakes can also be used
To achieve this, the braking system has for the inner wheel assembly. Each carbon pad to increase tyre temperatures via complex air
Brembo sees the worth of its involvement in Formula 1 both from a technology development and PR point of view and is always keen to show off the capabilities of its brake systems
ducts. However, it’s also important to keep the the engineers need to continually adjust the cylinder travel, and others that drive better with
brakes cool, as this slows the rate of wear. ‘It’s margins of their defined temperature window.’ a shorter pedal,’ Pellegrini adds. ‘So the size of
very important for teams to experiment with the Each team’s braking system differs from the the master cylinder is also different between
set-up of the car during FP1 and FP2 to define other as every driver’s preferences are different teams, but the discs are usually the same.’
the optimum working range of temperatures for and so is the team’s design approach. ‘Every
the brake discs and pads,’ says Andrea Pellegrini, team has a dedicated front and rear caliper Brake test
Brembo F1 engineer. ‘If initial temperatures are design because some teams prefer stiffer, but In the dry, the braking points in circuit racing
too low, under 250degC, then the drivers can therefore heavier and larger calipers, and there remain the same each lap as the track exhibits
glaze the disc which decreases the life. However, are other variances in terms of the weight of a relatively consistent level of grip, aside from a
if temperatures are too high, above 600degC, the rim and the installation,’ Pellegrini says. small improvement in track evolution. Of course,
then you can have high wear. ‘Stiff calipers and an overall stiff system gives there will be variations in driver style and car
‘They also have to keep in mind that during consistent feedback to the driver from the performance, but these are relatively minor.
the race weekend, brake temperatures will beginning to the end of the race, but of course However, in the world of rallying, loose surfaces
continue to increase due to track evolution this compromises the weight. such as gravel, snow and sand are continuously
and also at the start of the race when the car ‘There are some drivers who prefer braking changing and the unknown grip level around
is heavy with fuel,’ Pellegrini adds. ‘Therefore, with a long pedal, and so require shorter master each corner is one of the main challenges. This
‘Every F1 team’s car has a dedicated front and rear caliper design’
68 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2017
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WRC drivers left foot brake to instantly load up the front tyres to stabilise the car on ever-changing surfaces
is why rally drivers are masters of the art of Rally brakes use iron discs which are
left foot braking, because by continually resistant to cracking and coning; aluminium
balancing the throttle with the brakes, they can grade (typically 2618) 4-piston calipers and
instantly load the front tyres to stabilise the car, metallic pads. ‘The latter vary from driver to
regardless of the available grip. driver according to their preference and these
Unlike circuit racing, where the different high friction pads experience minimal wear.
demands of each track usually require The material must be able to work well when
modifying the brake operating temperature the pads are cold, but be sympathetic enough
window slightly and adjusting the cooling to the disc to avoid cracking due to the sharp
strategy, rally stages present a whole host of thermal gradients,’ explains Edwards.
other issues that the brakes have to cope with.
Continuous sequences of corners subjects The heat is on
the brakes to high loads as the drivers are The cooling strategy for the brakes used in
continually modulating the pedal to stabilise rallying is similar to most forms of motorsport
and adjust the position of the car and therefore where cool air is fed through the brake ducts
there is no time for this heat to dissipate. into the eye of the disc and the caliper body. As
Furthermore, most stages experience well as ventilation holes, the discs also have a
changes in altitude, such as the Ibarilla special vane design to further dissipate heat, which is
stage in Mexico, where drivers descend 534m particularly important for tarmac. Some teams
over 20km, increasing the stress on the brakes. also have liquid cooling systems for the calipers
There is then the issue of thermal shock, which via a closed loop internal design.
occurs when the cars race across fords or The future of brake technology in rallies will
snow and can initiate cracks on the discs and centre around light-weighting and innovative
ultimately the pads detaching. Depending on materials. However, regenerative braking is
the surface and individual demands of each also a potential technology. ‘It would be similar
stage, different size discs are used. For example, to other forms of motorsport where it would
on asphalt rallies where there are usually several likely require an active brake-by-wire system
90-degree corners, larger discs up to 370mm in to allow the teams to blend the friction brakes
diameter and 30 to 32mm in thickness are used, with the regeneration torque. This would mean
whereas unpaved stages use smaller discs at there would be a natural downsizing of the
300mm diameter and 25.4 to 28mm thickness. friction brakes due to their lower utilisation,’
says Edwards. ‘The main difference for rally
Brake bias would depend on how the electric drive system
Jonathan Edwards, sales director at Alcon, says: would be applied to a 4WD. For example, the
‘Feel and consistency of the brakes is key for rear-wheel drivetrain could be replaced entirely
drivers to have the confidence to push to the by electric drive. With a brake-by-wire system
maximum in varying conditions. The braking this would eliminate the need for a hydraulic
Top four images: Brembo F1 monobloc brake calipers are made systems are typical hydraulic systems with dual handbrake circuit and the handbrake would
from aluminium lithium and take around 40 hours to machine. master cylinders on a balance bar to provide likely become an electronic potentiometer.
They use six pistons to apply approximately five tonnes of a front and rear split. There is also a hydraulic In lower friction situations such as gravel or
pressure onto the pads. Bottom image: Alcon’s R5 4-piston handbrake via a long lever with a low friction snow, this may also eliminate the need for
monobloc rally caliper has internal passageways for fluid cooling master cylinder for maximum efficiency.’ rear friction brakes entirely.’
‘Feel and consistency of the brakes is key for rally drivers to have
the confidence to push to the maximum in varying conditions’
70 www.racecar-engineering.com NOVEMBER 2017
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Road works
How well-known engineering wizard Ricardo
has taken the lead in developing motorsport
technology that has transferred to road cars
By GEMMA HATTON
Car manufacturers
T
he competitive nature of Motorsport combining twice the power whilst improving
provides the perfect platform to fuel consumption by 35 per cent.
using motorsport
other industries. One of the most successful has become the backbone of companies such
examples of this is the Kinetic Energy Recovery as Williams Advanced Engineering and McLaren
System (KERS). First introduced in F1 in 2009, Applied Technologies. Through their work with
purely for their recovered braking energy was used to generate other sectors, these companies have generated
an extra 80bhp for the driver to deploy the revenue to then support their partner F1
brand awareness throughout six seconds per lap. Four years
later in 2013, Volvo reported that KERS
teams. This technology life cycle has become
so successful that car manufacturers are no
improved fuel consumption by 25 per cent longer using motorsport purely for brand
on its S60 model. Today’s Formula 1 Energy awareness. Instead, they are investing in areas
Recovery Systems (ERS) are now even more of racing which could see the next innovation;
efficient, with the MGU-K and the MGU-H as demonstrated by the nine manufacturers
Ricardo developed viscous coupling, which is a type of differential that uses a viscous fluid to generate friction between plates and transfers torque between two driveshafts. On
the left is the front assembly of an LMP1 spec viscous coupling while the image on the right shows the internals of the device. Ricardo first used this technology in Group B rallying
T
he aim of a differential is to not only split the torque
from the engine to both wheels on an axle, but also
to allow each wheel to rotate at different speeds. This
is essential when driving around a corner when the outside
wheel needs to travel further than the inside wheel, and
therefore rotate more. If both wheels were to rotate at the
same speed, then one wheel would have to lose traction
and slip to complete the turn. A gear assembly is used to
rotate both the right and left driveshafts together (locked
differential), as well as independently (open differential).
A more advanced system is a limited slip differential
(LSD) which is designed to combine the benefits of both
an open and locked differential. Therefore, when one
wheel starts to slip due to a loss of grip, a small amount
of torque is transferred to this wheel to help it overcome
this lack of traction; acting like a locked differential.
However, the majority of torque is still sent to the
wheel with traction, to allow it to continue rotating
independently; acting like an open differential. Ricardo designed pneumatic paddleshifts for Le Mans to reduce driver fatigue and avoid over-revving which
This is often achieved through a clutch pack on each helped the transmissions to survive 24 hours of racing. Audi’s R8 won five Le Mans with Ricardo paddleshfts
side of the gear assembly and consists of a series of friction
plates that rotate with the differential housing and are
interlaced with a series of clutch discs that rotate with the
driveshafts. The two spider gears are connected by a set of
planet gears which move under acceleration and braking,
exerting a force, via a cross pin, on the ramp plates which
either compresses or releases the clutch packs.
Ramping up
The amount of force exerted is dependent on the working
angle of the ramp plates fitted to the differential. Therefore,
during acceleration, the planet gear moves and exerts a
force on the ramp plates, which compresses the clutch
packs and locks the differential. Under braking, the planet
gear is moved in the opposite direction and the ramp angle
results in a lower force on the clutch packs, so that the
wheels can rotate independently, but some torque is still Mark Barge worked closely with Audi Sport, developing the transmission for the Audi R8 in the early 2000s,
transferred to provide an element of locking; preventing which was also used in the Gibson LMP2 chassis until 2016. Ricardo also has experience with spec formulae
either wheel slipping excessively.
The amount of torque on the differential when Blevins adds. ‘The plates in normal differentials ‘This design could essentially achieve 100 per
accelerating from a relatively low speed is approximately wear after about 1500 to 2000km, particularly cent locking through the plate differential,
1g, whereas under braking, the torque transferred is in rally and circuit racing applications. The driver but the viscous coupling also provided an
around 0.3g. To avoid the wheels slipping at all, a pre-load can feel this wear in the differential as a delay element of damping,’ says Blevins.
is also applied to the clutch packs when the diff housing between locking between drive and overrun, so Ricardo’s next motorsport innovation that
is first assembled, therefore, this resultant torque needs to you almost get this free-wheeling type situation. was quickly integrated into road cars was the
be overcome before either wheel starts to lose grip. The It’s for a very short amount of time, but enough paddleshift developed for Audi during its
amount of locking is a balancing act, but one that engineers to unsettle the driver. Whereas viscous coupling domination of Le Mans in the early 2000s. ‘The
can use to tune their car set-up to suit particular tracks. has no mechanical contact within any elements typical characteristics of Le Mans in those days
of the disc because of the fluid. In sportscars, in round figures was 5000km in 24 hours which
we used to service the viscous couplings once equates to roughly 20,000 gear shifts,’ says
‘A lot of development a year and when you think that includes the
Le Mans 24 hours, you are looking at about a
Mark Barge, managing director of Performance
Products at Ricardo. ‘The transmission is actually
F1 intricacies
The complex and intricate designs of Formula 1
components also demands new manufacturing
processes to cope with the required accuracy of
the machining features that had to be achieved
within a small area. ‘It would be quite normal
for some complex housings to be machined for
more than 40 hours non-stop, which is more
than enough to machine an entire clay model
of a whole car,’ Barge says. ‘Yet, it’s not about
the amount of removed material, as there is
minimal waste, it’s all about achieving those
intricacies that requires an almost dentistry
approach. There’s a real skill and experience in
getting these sections down to the minimum,
which defines Formula 1 really.’
Some complex F1 housings can be machined for over 40 hours – enough time to machine an entire clay model of a road car The transfer of technology is not always
from motorsport to road car. When Ricardo
Formula E became the sole supplier for some single
make series, it needed the manufacturing
expertise used in automotive to cope with the
T
o keep up with the development of cent efficiency gain throughout the driveline. Now, increased production numbers. ‘To supply a
electrification, Ricardo is working with some to you and I that is a small number, but the team championship, you need the best from both
Formula E teams, supplying their transmissions was more than happy, because they had predicted worlds: you need to engineer high performance
for Season 5 onwards. Efficiency has become an an improvement of around that figure. Despite this components and yet be able to manufacture
essential requirement in any category of motorsport, minute change, it was still worth pursuing. Those are them on a production line,’ Barge says. ‘To
however, with teams restricted by the capabilities of the sort of margins we are dealing with in Formula E.’ produce parts to the expected standards,
battery technology, efficiency can be the difference The gearbox for these electric racecars couldn’t be we’ve had to really focus on production
between a winner and a loser in Formula E. simpler; a single speed gearbox is all that is necessary, methodologies such as design control, quality
‘Recently, we completed a research project for one as the motors can reverse and there is no need for control and full component traceability, but
of the teams to determine the efficiency improvement a clutch. However, this drive for efficiency means on a much larger scale. No driver can have
of a particular concept. We worked with them for everything has to be as lightweight as possible and so an advantage so performance, reliability and
around four months to produce a single set of parts despite the simplicity of the concept, a huge amount quality needs to be exactly the same – despite
which they then tested on their dyno,’ explains of technology is invested into the gear geometries and how much each team wants you to gain
Blevins. ‘The new concept achieved less than a per finishing techniques, for example, to reduce weight. them a performance advantage.’
40 years experience
in the motorsport industry
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Shocking news
Racecar’s numbers man dispels some damper myths while also
showing how shocks can be used to help fine tune a chassis
By DANNY NOWLAN
S
ince I have been contributing to graph. This is illustrated in Figure 1. The biggest actually the exception that proves the rule. Why
Racecar Engineering one of the suck-you-in with racecar damping is that if this is so we’ll discuss at another time.
subjects I’ve covered that always gets the curve in Figure 1 moves up and down To kick this discussion off we have to review
a response is damping. Given that then everyone thinks the damping has been some basics first, and this starts with the quarter
damping is a critical but very poorly understood increased/decreased. This is complete nonsense. car model. The reason we review the quarter
area of racecar engineering this is not surprising. The thing that drives damping behaviour car model is because it’s a very simple and
However, one thing that I have not yet addressed is damping rate. This is the slope of the graph instructional tool to educate us as to where to
is what part of the damper do you need to adjust and you’ll see an illustration on how to calculate start. Just to refresh everyone’s memory the
to get a desired result. This is what we will be this on the chart. Typical racing numbers are in quarter car model is shown in Figure 2.
discussing at length in this article. the order of 3000 to 20000N/m/s. All damping The parameters of the model are:
Before we begin we need to deal with one behaviour stems from here. Some might point mB = Mass of the quarter car (kg)
great myth about dealing with racecar damping. out that regressive damping disproves this. mT = Mass of the tyre/unsprung mass (kg)
This is to do with the peak force vs peak velocity However, once you dig beneath the surface it is KB = Spring rate of the body (N/m)
C B = 2 ⋅ ω0 ⋅ mB ⋅ ζ
CB
ζ =
2 ⋅ ω 0 ⋅ mB
Here the terms of the equation are:
CB = Wheel damping rate of the spring (N/m/s)
mB = Mass of the quarter car.
ωO = Natural frequency (rad/s)
ζ = Damping ratio
Damper curves
Figure 5: Beam pogo stick approximation of the racecar One thing to keep in mind, just remember your
base damping curve will be a compromise. It
will be a trade-off of body control, and how
the car rides the bumps and the frequency
behaviour you want from the car. You start
this process with damping ratios, you dial this
in with a tool like the ChassisSim shaker rig
toolbox, and then you go to the track to test.
The combinations thereof will settle on what the
mid-range damper curve looks like.
That said, there is quite a bit of on-track
tuning you can do with dampers and here
are some rules of thumb that over the years
have worked very well for me:
• If the dampers are wildly oscillating and the
car is undriveable – increase the damping.
• Turn-in understeer – decrease front
bump and rear rebound. Reviewing
the beam pogo stick model, this will
force the car to pitch.
Figure 6: Increasing low speed bump at the front
• Corner exit understeer – increase the
rear bump. This is effectively adding
transient rear spring.
Bumped up
To work through some examples of this let’s do
some simulations using ChassisSim. The reason
we are using ChassisSim is that its lap time
simulation is transient. Consequently we can
actually simulate the effect of dampers on the
vehicle’s performance and ultimately lap time.
The Lamborghini was exhibiting borderline turn-in oversteer so the first step was to increase the bump at the front of the car This is a key distinction that separates ChassisSim
amongst its contemporaries, but we will discuss
While it has a big impact on overall performance the whys of this another time.
For the purpose of this study we will focus on
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These are all the things you would expect from softening the rear
spring on a racecar, but this time we have done it with a damper
Figure 7: Decreasing low speed bump at the rear The results of this is shown in Figure 6. The
baseline is coloured and the simulated is black.
As can be seen it has had a marginal increase in
steer angle which is the effect we are after. It has
gone from 5.96-degree of steer to 6.17-degree
of steer. Also, the front pitch was decreased by
0.5mm. Ultimately this actually increased the
car’s lap time, but on the other hand it did have
the handling effect we were after.
Bumped down
The second change was to decrease the rear
bump to help with rear turn-exit oversteer. The
results are shown in Figure 7.
As before coloured trace was the baseline,
the changed was black. Looking at the data a
couple of things are apparent. The steering
The second step in the damper tuning of the Lamborghini was to decrease rear bump to help sort out corner-exit oversteer lock has increased marginally from five
degrees to six degrees, the rear dampers have
Figure 8: Where to tune for damper velocity squatted by an extra1mm on average, and
you have more throttle application. These
are all the things you would expect from
softening the rear spring, but this time we
have done it with the damper.
As we review the data we need to keep in
mind a couple of things. Firstly, because these
are simulated changes the magnitudes of the
changes will always be far more subtle than with
an actual driver. However, this also illustrates
that a damper is a fine tuning tool and while
it has a big impact on overall car performance
we need to be very mindful not to try and use a
damper to correct a problem that we should be
correcting with something else.
Also, to wrap up this discussion, where in
the damper curve should we actually be tuning?
The answer is readily found by plotting corner
speed, damper movement and damper velocity.
This is illustrated in Figure 8.
To find out where in the curve you need to tune you have to plot corner speed, damper movement and the damper velocity So, in this particular example the front
dampers are relatively well controlled but the
rears need work. In this case you simply read
off the damper velocity which here is 275mm/s,
and that is where in the damping curve you
should apply all your efforts.
Shock tactics
In closing there are some very simple techniques
Gaz coilover shocks. Dampers are a that can be applied to tune the racecar using
potent tuning tool in their own right, dampers. The first step in the process is to
but to get the very best from them understand the quarter car model and know
you need to use them appropriately what your damping ratios are.
Then, using the beam pogo stick model as a
visualisation tool to help you and exploring this
with software like ChassisSim, you can refine the
transient handling using dampers. Once you get
your head around this you will find just what a
powerful tuning tool dampers are, provided
they are used appropriately.
F
ollowing Porsche’s announcement The decision to open the regulations up to who also had an LMP1 car in design and is ready
that it will withdraw from the World manufacturers competing in the non-hybrid to build one, says that there is more supply from
Endurance Championship, the ACO class, and balanced by fuel flow, means Toyota manufacturers than demand from customers,
has finally announced its ‘Plan B’ for could be competing against a rival that is and so has stopped his programme for next
the future of LMP1 regulations. Gone is the plan spending significantly less. The manufacturer is season as an agreed contract fell through.
to complete 1km on electric power only at Le unlikely to spend money developing a new car What the rules do is open the door to
Mans, and crucially gone too is the necessity with a lower hybrid capability, and will certainly Peugeot, which now has everything that
for a manufacturer to compete with a hybrid in not compete with no hybrid power. it wants to compete; a lower-capacity
the top class. The new-look LMP1 cars will run hybrid system, a lower budget and equal
in one class, and will be balanced for lap time P2s thwarted opportunity to compete. However, the French
only, with the expectation that hybrid will be The insistence that cars be balanced with a manufacturer was in September accused of its
used for economy rather than power, and so will fuel flow meter effectively rules out the LMP2 part in an emissions scandal that, according
go longer on each fill of fuel. That means that teams that considered moving to LMP1 with to Autocar magazine in the UK, could cost the
any incident or delays that occur early on in an their current cars unrestricted. Without ballast, manufacturer €5bn. The claims against PSA
endurance race will be easier to mitigate than and with the engine increased in power, teams are published in a report from the European
later in the race, when strategy will have less of believe they could lap at Le Mans in 3m20s, and Union’s directorate-general for competition,
an impact on the overall result. use less than a litre more fuel despite the extra consumer affairs and fraud prevention,
The decision to not implement the rules power. With confidential tyres, banned in LMP2, according to Autocar, although the PSA
that were announced at Le Mans in June was and with aero development, the cars could group says that it complies with regulations
designed to bring in new manufacturers. The compete with modification to the bodywork in every country where it operates.
plug-in hybrid idea was conceived by the FIA to reduce length by 100mm. For Toyota, which objected to the increase
through Lindsay Owen-Jones, President of the However, the fuel flow meter also rules out in the number of races and the introduction
Endurance Commission, and agreed by Toyota, DPi teams and manufacturers competing in the of the third ERS but was over-ruled in both
Porsche and Peugeot, if it would help to bring US from coming to Le Mans in the top class with matters, the decision on whether or not to
in the French manufacturer. However, the their IMSA-specification engines. Teams are still compete under the new regulations will come
argument remains that the Le Mans regulations hopeful that, in these turbulent times, the ACO in October and it has asked directly whether
should have been designed to attract new will change course and allow in the non-fuel or not Peugeot will come and if so, when? ‘We
manufacturers, and not just Peugeot. flow meter cars, and it seems likely that the US need to understand where the calendar goes,
‘Having Porsche leave at an unexpected and European rules may come together in the if competitors are coming and based on that
time, it is an opportunity to be attractive so you next rule set due in 2020. where the regulation goes,’ said Toyota’s team
re-open the door and make the category easier The fuel flow decision means that the ACO principal, Pascal Vasselon. ‘These are the three
to access for other manufacturers,’ said the ACO’s has put its faith in the new LMP1 cars that are things; calendar, competitors and regulations.
sporting director Vincent Beaumesnil. ‘We are currently under construction at Dallara, for the We need to have some indications that new
convinced that this is the right plan now.’ SMP and ART teams, and Ginetta. Nicolas Perrin, competitors are coming.’
I
XPB
f a touring car series promoter had a wish list it would And for those teams it’s the costs that keeps them in the
read something like this. Full grids; lots of marques; close BTCC. ‘The cost of competing hasn’t gone up since NGTC
competition; stable and cost-effective regulations; a long started [iaround £400,000 a car per season] because the cost of
term TV deal; and grandstands packed with spectators. But the cars and parts haven’t gone up,’ Gow says. ‘Running a car is
for Alan Gow, long time boss of BTCC promoter TOCA – and also always based on the cost of parts, the cost of tyres, the cost of
the outgoing chairman of the MSA and president of the FIA fuel, the cost of brakes; they all remain the same. In our contract
Touring Car Commission – this is not so much wish list as reality. with our suppliers – like RML, AP and Xtrac – they are fixed on
The BTCC now hosts 10 car makes (with Alfa Romeo the prices over five years. So it can only go up by inflation.’
returning as a dealer team entry with Handy Motorsport next
year to make it 11); at Rockingham qualifying it had 27 cars TCR threat?
covered by a second; and it has crowds of 30 to 40,000 at its But while the NGTC concept has worked well, it’s not the only
events, plus TV coverage that’s locked in until the end of 2022. show in town when it comes to touring car categories, and
Then there’s the highly successful NGTC regulations, which are next year TCR, with its manufacturer-friendly customer racing
in the first year of a five year extension. approach, is coming to the UK with a brand new British series.
It’s actually this last, the regulations, that Gow believes Some have seen this as a challenge to the BTCC’s hegemony
provides the bedrock to the BTCC’s success, largely due to when it comes to top-line touring car racing in Britain. Gow,
the pack of standard components that’s at its heart. ‘It’s cost however, does not see it as a threat, and responds to TCR’s claim
effective and it gives everyone an equal chance at success, that it has big grids for next year already with: ‘No they haven’t.
and that’s the most important thing,’ Gow says. ‘It doesn’t rely To be honest I’ll be surprised if they can find that many people
on an expensive homologation process of standard cars, and willing to spend £200,000 on doing a season of TCR, which are
it doesn’t rely on production components, so it’s not about basically club races.
whether one car has got a better suspension system than ‘I think you will find there’s simply no room for it,’ he adds.
another, or whatever. It takes out all those variables and gives ‘I don’t think it will have any traction, because it’s not cheap. If
‘At the end of these every car an equal chance of success.’ you have a look at the costs of running the TCR races, teams
current regulations Which suits the teams, and also the manufacturers that back
many of them, usually on a sliding scale of works involvement.
are quoting £200,000 to do 14 races. Well that’s the same price
as doing the BTCC [33 races over 11 events], but without the
we might look at ‘Some of the teams are manufacturer backed,’ Gow says. ‘But spectators and without the TV the BTCC has.’
there is no such thing as a race team run out of the factory Gow also believes TCR has no place in the UK anyway, as
incorporating hybrid anymore. We have teams that are financially and technically it’s not the sort of place it will thrive. ‘It does well everywhere
into the next’ supported by manufactures, such as BMW and Honda, but I
can’t think of a touring car manufacturer who runs a team from Honda, MG and BMW battle it out at
inside the factory walls – except maybe Audi in DTM. But then Knockhill. Plenty of marques and stands full
Mercedes [DTM] farmed all their stuff out to HWA. It’s very rare of spectators are hallmarks of the BTCC
that a manufacturer has an in-house race team.’
Team works
Gow will not mind that the manufacturers are not heavily
involved, though, as a reliance on works teams has bitten the
BTCC before, during its Super Touring era, when costs went
through the roof and many of them then departed. ‘That’s the
same in any series,’ Gow says. ‘LMP1 is going through that exact
same process now, and so is DTM. When you’re reliant on pure
manufacturer participation that’s always a problem, because
understandably manufacturers go in and out of a programme,
no different than them going in and out of advertising on a
certain TV programme. They will change their marketing, they
will change their advertising, they will change their PR focus,
they don’t do the same thing forever.
‘But that’s why our regulations are very good,’ Gow adds.
‘Because they are team based regulations, and the teams
become the constructors. The teams homologate the car, if you
like, so it’s based on the teams, and the teams do all the work,
and the manufacturers then end up supporting them.’
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SEEN: Megane TCR BMW launches M8 GTE for WEC, IMSA and Le Mans
BMW used the Frankfurt show in September to
launch its much-anticipated M8 GTE, which is to be QUICK SPEC
campaigned in next year’s GTE Pro division of the
World Endurance Championship, in the IMSA series BMW M8 GTE
in the US, and at the Le Mans 24 hours. Engine: 90-degree V8 with BMW TwinPower turbo;
The car will make its race debut at the 24 Hours 3981cc; 500bhp at 7000rpm.
of Daytona in 2018 in late January. Body: Composite body with carbon core and DMSB-
Vukovic Motorsport has unveiled the Renault ‘The BMW M8 GTE is our new GT flagship and will go approved safety roll cage; CFRP outer shell with
quick-change concept.
Megane TCR that has been designed and head to head with the strong opposition in this sector,’ said
built by the Swiss-based company with the BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt. ‘The FIA WEC Chassis and suspension: Double wishbones on front
and rear axle; 4-way adjustable shock absorbers at
blessing of Renault Sport. ‘The car has been and the IMSA series in North America are a top competitive front and rear; anti-roll bars.
developed to optimise the chassis qualities environment for our new challenger.
Transmission: 6-speed sequential motorsport gearbox;
of the production model for an ultimate ‘With the BMW M8 GTE, we are bringing cutting-edge electric paddleshift system; limited slip differential.
racing use,’ it tells us. ‘The combination of technology to the top international class of GT racing,
the standard suspension layout with the whilst at the same time tying in with our tradition at
chassis optimisation on torsion and strength Le Mans.’ Marquardt added. ‘The development of the
provides a large set-up potential.’ BMW M8 GTE is on schedule, and we can hardly wait to
The outfit has attracted a number of see the car challenging for victories in 2018.’
technical partners, it says, including Bosch The M8 GTE marks a return to Le Mans for BMW, which
Motorsport for the electronics; 3 MO for was last seen on the grid at La Sarthe in 2011, when
the transmission; KW for the suspension; there was an M3 GT2 in the field. Its best result at the
OZ Wheels for the rims and Lehmann great race was in 1999, when Yannick Dalmas, Joachim
Motorentechnik for the development of Winkelhock and Pierluigi Martini won in a BMW V12 LMR.
the 1.8-litre race spec engine. The McLaren F1 GTR, powered by a BMW engine, had
previously triumphed in 1995.
NEW - Make GSM your first stop for all your race wear needs
www.gsmperformance.co.uk
BUSINESS – AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL SHOW
Opportunity knocks
If you’re looking for a career in motorsport engineering
then ASI in January is simply a must-attend event
T
he face of motor racing is changing competition next year will feature a category the industry will share their advice and offer
rapidly with the arrival of electric and for autonomous cars, too. insights. Motorsport Jobs will be just one of the
hybrid systems in the past four years. That is not to say that the traditional exhibitors which will be taking the stage over
In Formula 1, the World Endurance technology is going to become less relevant. the course of the event, talking about how to
Championship, Formula E and the new Electric There are huge gains in efficiency that need to recruit in the digital age.
GT Championship, which will start in 2018, it be found in the internal combustion engine, Meanwhile, throughout the Autosport
appears that this technology is here to stay, and CEOs of major car manufacturers have Engineering Show, held once again in
and that means a whole new skill set to be highlighted that there is still a future for conjunction with us, Racecar Engineering, top
learned for budding engineers. gasoline and diesel technology. firms will be in attendance not only looking to
For instance, in the German Formula All of this is just in the drivetrain technology, do business, but also looking for new young
Student competition in the summer of this but throughout each racecar there are also talent. As a student or as an engineer looking
year, engineers were already working opportunities to work with new materials and for a career in motorsport, don’t forget to
on driverless car technology, and the UK technologies, and companies are looking for bring your CV, business cards, and make sure
young and talented engineers to do just this. you’ve studied the show layout to see where
are looking for the So it’s good to report that at the Autosport
International Show, visitors considering a future
and make sure you have knowledge of the
companies you want to speak to.
talented engineers
partnership with a new recruitment platform, industry employing close to 50,000 people
Motorsport Jobs. Each year, universities, throughout the UK, this chance for prospective
colleges and specialist training companies alike students and employees to meet such a wide
AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL all offer advice on how to find a route into the range of companies and further education
11 to 14 JANUARY 2018 industry. New for 2018, this area of the show providers is invaluable.’
will also incorporate the Talk Shop stage, where For a full list of exhibitors, visit the official
PUBLIC OPENING TIMES:
Saturday: 9:00am to 6:00pm experts from a range of disciplines within website www.autosportinternational.com.
Sunday: 9:00am to 6:00pm
NEW FOR 2018, child ticket prices for those under 16 have
been reduced. Full ticket price information is as follows:
Standard: Adult £35pp, Child (6-15yrs) £17
Ticket includes entry into Autosport International, the
Live Action Arena and Performance Car Show (children
under five years of age go for free). Ticket price includes
the £2 booking fee per ticket.
Paddock Pass: Adult £46pp, Child (6-15yrs) £27.50pp
Ticket includes entry into Autosport International, the Live
Action Arena and Performance Car Show (children under
five years of age go for free). Access to backstage Paddock
area in the Live Action Arena, Paddock Guide and access
to driver autograph sessions.
Family Pass: £87 (2x Adult and 2x Child of 6-15yrs).
Ticket includes entry into Autosport International, the Live
Action Arena and Performance Car Show. Valid for standard
tickets only. The price includes booking fee charges.
VIP Club: £127 (no VIP Child ticket available).
Ticket includes entry into Autosport International, the
Live Action Arena and Performance Car Show. In addition
VIP Club includes free parking, seat at VIP enclosure in
the Live Action Arena, complimentary drinks and canapes,
VIP gift bag and much more.
For more, visit www.autosportinternational.com
Autosport Engineering is a great place to meet future employers. But don’t forget to take your CV and business cards
The Performance Car Show, which runs alongside Autosport International, highlights the work of the tuning industry and is packed with very cool cars
Pit equipment
Gunning for fast wheel changes
Sector expert Paoli has brought dimension repeatability and to guarantee
a new wheel gun on to the market, homogeneity in performance.
called the Hurricane. Performance on loosening nuts
The company says: ‘The partnership has increased by 10 per cent with
with highly skilled technicians and top the Hurricane, Paoli tells us, while on
racing teams has allowed the development the tightening side it has remained
of an innovative, greatly performing and intentionally unchanged compared to
technologically advanced product.’ the previous models, in order to avoid
The Hurricane has been designed using excessive tightening.
CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), The new Hurricane is also suitable
which, Paoli tells us, has allowed it not for Paoli’s new Fast Shift system, which
only to sharpen up the performance of the allows an immediate reversal to save time
motor, but also to create a unique, fresh between the removal of one wheel and its
and well-finished design. replacement with a new one.
There’s some nice attention to The selection of materials such as
detail, too, particularly in the use of new carbon, aluminium and aeronautical steel
technologies in the production area, makes Hurricane a fast and extremely
such as in precision casting, which is reliable wheel gun, Paoli says.
intended to assure internal channels www.paoli.net Electronics
Get yourself connected
Souriau 8STA connectors are communications and harnesses.
designed for applications where Lane Motorsport can supply
high performance, small size and 8STA connectors, caps, gaskets,
light weight are key. nut plates and heat shrink boots on
They are used extensively in very short lead times.
motorsport for engine control, www.lanemotorsport.com
Set-up equipment
Fire suppression Wizzard kit
Safety in numbers The innovative laser based wheel
alignment system Setup Wizzard from CP
Lifeline’s fire suppression systems for have been tested to conform to either Autosport ensures perfect suspension
2018 and beyond puts driver safety into FIA Technical list numbers 16 or to 52, measurement of toe, camber, corner
a new dimension, the company tells us. making them the most advanced in weights and ride height at the race track.
With even faster and more efficient the world, Lifeline says. It can be used in almost every possible
deployment of extinguishant, all systems www.lifeline-fire.co.uk racing series there is, says CP Autosport, from
GT3 to TCR, and from rallying to Formula E.
www.cp-autosport.com
Engine performance
The gold standard for cold air
To assist with keeping your engine’s intake Cool Cover Gold will fit air intake tubes up
charge as cold as possible DEI has introduced to 28in (71.1cm) long and 3in to 4in (7.62cm
Heat management the Cool Cover Gold air tube cover kit. to 10.16cm) in diameter.
Sensors
Izze too hot?
Introducing Izze Racing, temperature sensors. These
a US-based motorsport have up to 16 channels per
electronics manufacturer. sensor at 32Hz via CAN and
It specialises in the come either as a fully sealed
design, production, and aluminium enclosure ($300)
distribution of multi-channel or as PCB assembly ($175).
infrared tyre and brake www.izzeracing.com
Electronics
3D printing
Deutsch tech The tough stuff
The Deutsch ASDD Series of standard equivalent
connectors from TE shell sizes, we’re told, and Windform SP composite that can withstand the loads
Connectivity (TE) are a were developed to bring material is the latest thing and vibrations of high
revolution in motorsport high density and high in 3D printing technology. speeds and rough tracks.
connector design, TE says. performance into the smaller Windform SP is a carbon It shows how far the
They have almost double wire sizes racing teams prefer. fibre reinforced composite technology has come that
the number of contacts www.te.com material for functional 3D now this can be used for
printing applications. It is a applications such as rallying.
very light and strong material CRP-group.com
Fluid transfer
Right tools for the job
Aeroflow is renowned for wrenches provide a perfect fit
its premium quality, high and are made from materials with
performance fluid transfer the same hardness rating as the
products, which use lightweight components they are designed for,
alloys in their construction. It now so they won’t mark your fittings.
provide the tools to fit them. All Aeroflow aluminium
Aeroflow components are wrenches are hard anodised black
capable of repeated assembly and and size stamped. The spanners and
disassembly without degradation, wrenches are available individually
providing these correct tools are or as a seven-piece set.
used. The standard or double-ended www.aeroflowperformance.eu
PIT CREW
All change at the top
I
Editor t wasn’t widely reported, but the departure from the legacy will go far beyond the 2017 season, however.
Andrew Cotton
@RacecarEd FIA of Bernard Niclot, the highly-regarded now former As FIA head of Technical, he has also been in a key position
Deputy editor
Gemma Hatton
head of Technical at the organisation, is big news. Right to try to sort out the future of the engine regulations in
@RacecarEngineer now, Formula 1 and the WEC are looking to finalise far- both F1 and LMP. His successor has plenty of experience
News editor and chief sub editor
Mike Breslin
reaching regulations that will bring stability and which will with hybrids and future technologies. Simon worked with
Design be embraced by teams and manufacturers, and this now falls FIA president Jean Todt at Ferrari in 1993 in the engine and
Dave Oswald
under the guidance of Gilles Simon. electronics department; under Todt investigated new energies
Technical consultant
Peter Wright Niclot joined the FIA in 2010 and was responsible for and environmentally friendly technology in motorsport in the
Contributors
Mike Blanchet, Sam Collins (Associate
ushering in the hybrid regulations that former president FIA, and then went to work for engine manufacturer PURE,
Editor), Ricardo Divila, Eric Jacuzzi, Simon Max Mosley considered critical for manufacturers to meet although its unit never made it into the sport. He was then
McBeath, Danny Nowlan, Mark Ortiz,
Marshall Pruett, Martin Sharp, Don Taylor their corporate responsibilities. Whether or not that sop to hired by Honda but recently parted with the manufacturer to
Photography the manufacturers was actually the right thing for the sport take up his place in the FIA. On paper, he is an ideal candidate
James Moy
Deputy managing director is a much-debated topic. For some manufacturers, such and is clearly well connected. The FIA did not reveal why
Steve Ross Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3730
Email steve.ross@chelseamagazines.com
as Porsche, the link between race and road has become Niclot left and had not even prepared a statement regarding
Advertisement Manager strong, particularly in terms of personnel. In terms of actual his departure, only the arrival of Simon into post.
Lauren Mills Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3796
Email lauren.mills@
technology, and the improvement of racing, the energy Formula 1’s 2021 engine rules are coming along, according
chelseamagazines.com recovery systems have taken a back seat and are not reported, to sources. It seems that twin turbo 1.6-litre engines, minus
Senior Sales Executive
Oliver Blalock Tel +44 (0) 20 7349 3775 except in case of failure. the exhaust energy recovery
Yet, perversely it could be
An amalgamation of system (MGU-H) and with more
Email oliver.blalock@
chelseamagazines.com
Circulation Manager Daniel Webb that the hybrid regulations, from the MGU-K, while not